Professional Documents
Culture Documents
821
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I. Architectural.--The New Labor Exchange in Paris.--With views of the interior and exterior of the
building
II. Electrical.--The Construction and Maintenance of Underground Circuits.--By S.B. FOWLER.--A
comprehensive article, discussing at length the various devices for protecting underground circuits,
methods of inserting the cables, etc.
III. Engineering.--Railroads to the Clouds.--Sketches of a number of mountain railroads
IV. Marine Engineering.--The French Armored Turret Ship the Marceau.--1 engraving.--A full description
of the vessel, giving dimensions and cost
A Review of Marine Engineering during the Past Decade.--A paper read before the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers by Mr. Alfred Blechynben, of Barrow-in-Furness.--This paper, which is
continued from Supplement No. 820, treats on steam pipes, feed water heating, twin screws, etc.
V. Miscellaneous.--The Little House.--An article giving various hints about the arrangement and
management of small dwellings, with special view to the best sanitary arrangements
Stilt Walking.--A sketch, with engraving, of Sylvain Dornon, the stilt walker of Landes
Remains of a Roman Villa in England
Gum Arabic and its Modern Substitutes.--A continuation of a paper by Dr. S. Rideal and W.E.
Youle.--With 26 tables
A New Method of Extinguishing Fires.--Invented by George Dickson and David A. Jones, of Toronto,
Canada.--Apparatus designed to utilize a mixture of water and liquefied carbonic acid
VI. Medicine and Hygiene.--The Hygienic Treatment of Obesity.--By Dr. Paul Chebon.--Methods of
eating, drinking, and exercising for the purpose of reducing fat.--An extended article, giving valuable
information to people troubled with too much flesh
VII. Photography.--Spectroscopic Determination of the Sensitiveness of Dry Plates.--A full description of
the new plan of Mr. G.F. WILLIAMS, for determining the sensitiveness of dry plates by the use of a
small direct vision pocket spectroscope
VIII. Physics.--A Physical Laboratory Indicator.--By J.W. MOORE, of Lafayette College.--1
engraving.--This is a modification of the old peg board adapted to use in the laboratory.--It indicates
the names of the members of the class, contains a full list of the experiments to be performed, refers
The central door of the ground floor opens upon a large vestibule, around which are arranged symmetrically
the post, telegraph, telephone, and intelligence offices, etc. Beyond the vestibule there is a gallery that leads to
the central court, upon the site of which has been erected the grand assembly hall. This latter, which measures
20 meters in length, 22 in width, and 6 in height, is lighted by a glazed ceiling, and contains ten rows of
benches. These latter contain 900 seats, arranged in the form of circular steps, radiating around the president's
platform, which is one meter in height. A special combination will permit of increasing the number of seats
reserved for the labor associations on occasions of grand reunions to 1,200. The oak doors forming the lateral
bays of the hall will open upon the two large assembly rooms and the three waiting rooms constructed around
the faces of the large hall. In the assembly rooms forming one with the central hall will take place the
deliberations of the syndic chambers. The walls of the hall will, ere long, receive decorative
paintings.--L'Illustration.
In Germany the architect Gilly was first to become interested in tar paper roofing, and recommended it in his
architecture for the country. Nevertheless the new style of roof covering was but little employed, and was
finally abandoned during the first year of the 19th century. It was revived again in 1840, when people began
to take a renewed interest in tar paper roofs, the method of manufacturing an impermeable paper being already
so far perfected that the squares of paper were dipped in tar until thoroughly saturated. The roof constructed of
these waterproof paper sheets proved itself to be a durable covering, being unimpenetrable to atmospheric
precipitations, and soon several factories commenced manufacturing the paper. The product was improved
continually and its method of manufacture perfected. The good qualities of tar paper roofs being recognized
by the public, they were gradually adopted. The costly pine tar was soon replaced by the cheaper coal tar.
Square sheets of paper were made at first; they were dipped sufficiently long in ordinary heated coal tar, until
perfectly saturated. The excess of tar was then permitted to drip off, and the sheets were dried in the air. The
improvement of passing them through rollers to get rid of the surplus tar was reserved for a future time, when
an enterprising manufacturer commenced to make endless tar paper in place of sheets. Special apparatus were
constructed to impregnate these rolls with tar; they were imperfect at first, but gradually improved to a high
degree. Much progress was also made in the construction of the roofs, and several methods of covering were
devised. The defects caused by the old method of nailing the tar paper direct upon the roof boarding were
corrected; the consequence of this method was that the paper was apt to tear, caused by the unequal expansion
of the roofing boards and paper, and this soon led to the idea of making the latter independent of the former by
nailing the sides of the paper upon strips running parallel with the gable. The use of endless tar paper proved
to be an essential advantage, because the number of seams as well as places where it had to be nailed to the
roof boarding was largely decreased. The manufacture of tar paper has remained at about the same stage and
no essential improvements have been made up to the present. As partial improvement may be mentioned the
preparation of tar, especially since the introduction of the tar distillery, and the manufacture of special roof
lacquers, which have been used for coating in place of the coal tar. As an essential progress in the tar paper
roofing may be mentioned the invention of the double tar paper roof, and the wood cement roof, which is
regarded as an offshoot.
The tar paper industry has, within the last forty years, assumed great dimensions, and the preferences for this
roofing are gaining ground daily. In view of the small weight of the covering material, the wood construction
of the roof can be much lighter, and the building is therefore less strained by the weight of the roof than one
with the other kind, so that the outer walls need not be as heavy. Considering the price, the paper roof is not
only cheaper than other fireproof roofs, but its light weight makes it possible for the whole building to be
constructed lighter and cheaper. The durability of the tar paper roof is satisfactory, if carefully made of good
material; the double tar paper roof, the gravel double roof, and the wood cement roof are distinguished by
These roofs may be used for all kinds of buildings, and not only are factories, storehouses, and country
buildings covered with it, but also many dwellings. The most stylish residences and villas are at present being
inclosed with the more durable kinds; the double roof, the gravel double roof, and the wood cement roof. For
factory buildings, which are constantly shaken by the vibrations of the machinery, the tar paper roof is
preferable to any other.
In order to ascertain to what degree tar paper roofs would resist fire, experiments were instituted at the
instigation of some of the larger manufacturers of roofing paper, in the presence of experts, architects, and
others, embracing the most severe tests, and it was fully proved that the tar paper roof is as fireproof as any
other. These experiments were made in two different ways; first, the readiness of ignition of the tar paper roof
by a spark or flame from the outside was considered, and, second, it was tested in how far it would resist a fire
in the interior of the building. In the former case, it was ascertained that a bright, intense fire could be kept
burning upon the roof for some time, without igniting the woodwork of the roof, but heat from above caused
some of the more volatile constituents of the tar to be expelled, whereby small flames appeared upon the
surface within the limits of the fire; the roofing paper was not completely destroyed. There always remained a
cohesive substance, although it was charred and friable, which by reason of its bad conductivity of heat
protected the roof boarding to such an extent that it was "browned" only by the developed tar vapors. A fire
was next started within a building covered with a tar paper roof; the flame touched the roof boarding, which
partly commenced to char and smoulder, but the bright burning of the wood was prevented by the air-tight
condition of the roof; the fire gases could not escape from the building. The smoke collecting under the roof
prevented the entrance of fresh air, in consequence of which the want of oxygen smothered the fire. The
roofing paper remained unchanged. By making openings in the sides of the building so that the fire gases
could escape, the wood part of the roof was consumed, but the roofing paper itself was only charred and did
not burn. After removing the fire in contact with the paper, this ceased burning at once and evinced no
disposition whatever to spread. In large conflagrations, also, the tar paper roofs behaved in identically a
similar manner. Many instances have occurred where the tar paper roof prevented the fire from spreading
inside the building, and developing with sufficient intensity to work injury.
As it is of interest to the roofer to know the manner of making the material he uses, we give in the following a
short description of the manufacture of roofing paper. At first, when square sheets were used exclusively, the
raw paper consisted of ordinary dipped or formed sheets. The materials used in its manufacture were common
woolen rags and other material. In order to prepare the pulp from the rags it is necessary to cut them so small
that the fabric is entirely dissolved and converted into short fibers. The rags are for this purpose first cut into
pieces, which are again reduced by special machines. The rags are cut in a rag cutting machine, which was
formerly constructed similar to a feed cutter; later on, more complicated machines of various constructions
were employed. It is not our task to describe the various kinds, but we remain content with the general remark
that they are all based on the principles of causing revolving knives to operate upon the rags. The careful
cleansing of the cut rags, necessary for the manufacture of paper, is not required for roofing paper. It is
sufficient to rinse away the sand and other solid extraneous matter. The further reduction of the cut rags was
formerly performed in a stamp mill, which is no longer employed, the pulp mill or rag engine being
universally used.
The construction of this engine may be described as follows: A box or trough of wood, iron, or stone is by a
partition divided into two parts which are connected at their ends. At one side upon the bottom of the box lies
an oakwood block, called the back fall. In a hollow of this back fall is sunk the so-called plate, furnished with
a number of sharp steel cutters or knives, lying alongside of each other. A roller of solid oakwood, the
circumference of which is also furnished with sharp steel cutters or knives, is fastened upon a shaft and
revolves within the hollow. The journal bearings of the shaft are let into and fastened in movable wooden
carriers. The carriers of the bearings may be raised and lowered by turning suitable thumbscrews, whereby the
From the pulp chest it passes to the form of the paper machine. This form consists of an endless fine web of
brass wire, which revolves around rollers. The upper part of this form rests upon a number of hollow copper
rollers, whereby a level place is formed. The form revolves uniformly around the two end rollers, and has at
the same time a vibratory motion, by which the pulp running upon the form is spread out uniformly and
conducted along, more flowing on as the latter progresses. The water escapes rapidly through the close wire
web. In order to limit the form on the sides two endless leather straps revolve around the rollers on each side,
which touch with their lower parts the form on both sides and confine the fluid within a proper breadth. The
thickness of the pulp is regulated at the head of the form by a brass rule standing at a certain height; its
function is to level the pulp and distribute it at a certain thickness. The continually moving pulp layer assumes
greater consistency the nearer it approaches to the dandy roll. This is a cylinder covered with brass wire, and
is for the purpose of compressing the paper, after it has left the form, and free it from a great part of the water,
which escapes into a box. The paper is now freed of a good deal of the fluid, and assumes a consistency with
which it is enabled to leave the form, which now commences to return underneath the paper, passing on to an
endless felt, which revolves around rollers and delivers it to two iron rolls. The paper passes through a second
pair of iron rollers, the interiors of which are heated by steam. These rollers cause the last of the water to be
evaporated, so that it can then be rolled upon reels. A special arrangement shaves the edges to the exact size
required.
The paper is made in different thicknesses and designated by numbers to the size and weight.
Waste paper, bookbinders' shavings, etc., can be used for making the paper. As much wool as possible should
be employed, because the wool fiber has a greater resistance than vegetable fiber to the effects of the
temperature. By wool fiber is understood the horny substance resembling hair, with the difference that the
former has no marrowy tissue. The covering pellicle of the wool fiber consists of flat, mostly elongated
leaves, with more or less corners, lying over each other like scales, which makes the surface of the fiber
rough; this condition, together with the inclination of curling, renders it capable of felting readily. Pure wool
consists of a horny substance, containing both nitrogen and sulphur, and dissolves in a potash solution. In a
clean condition, the wool contains from 0.3 to 0.5 per cent. of ash. It is very hygroscopical, and under
ordinary circumstances it contains from 13 to 16 per cent. humidity, in dry air from 7 to 11 per cent., which
can be entirely expelled at a temperature of from 226 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Wool when ignited does not
burn with a bright flame, as vegetable fiber does, but consumes with a feeble smouldering glow, soon
extinguishes, spreading a disagreeable pungent vapor, as of burning horn. By placing a test tube with a
solution of five parts caustic potash in 100 parts water, a mixture of vegetable fibers and wool fibers, the latter
dissolve if the fluid is brought to boiling above an alcohol flame, while the cotton and linen fibers remain
intact.
The solubility of the woolen fibers in potash lye is a ready means of ascertaining the percentage of wool fiber
in the paper. An exhaustive analysis of the latter can be performed in the following manner: A known quantity
of the paper is slowly dried in a drying apparatus at temperature of 230° Fahrenheit, until a sample weighed
on a scale remains constant. The loss of weight indicates the degree of humidity. To determine the ash
The weight of the mineral substances in the raw paper is ascertained by analyzing the ash in a manner similar
to that above described. The several constituents of the ash and the mineral added to the raw paper are
ascertained as follows: Sufficient of the paper is calcined in the manner described; a known quantity of the ash
is weighed and thrown into a small porcelain dish containing a little distilled water and an excess of
chemically pure hydrochloric acid. In this solution are dissolved the carbonates, carbonate of lime, carbonate
of magnesia, a little of sulphate of alumina, as well as metallic oxides, while silicate of magnesia, silicic acid,
sulphate of lime (gypsum) remain undissolved. The substance is heated until the water and excess of free
hydrochloric acid have been driven off; it is then moistened with a little hydrochloric acid, diluted with
distilled water and heated. The undissolved residue is by filtering separated from the dissolved, the filter
washed with distilled water, and the wash water added to the filtrate. The undissolved residue is dried, and
after the filter has also been burned in due manner and the ash added, the weight is ascertained. It consists of
clay, sand, silicic acid and gypsum.
The filtrate is then poured into a cylinder capable of holding 100 cubic centimeters, and furnished with a
scale; sufficient distilled water is then added until the well-shaken fluid measures precisely 100 cubic
centimeters. By means of this measuring instrument, the filtrate is then divided into two equal portions. One
of these parts is in a beaker glass over-saturated with chemically pure chloride of ammonia, whereby any iron
of oxide present and a little dissolved alumina fall down as deposit. The precipitate is separated by filtering,
washed, dried at 212° Fahrenheit and weighed. To the filtrate is then added a solution of oxalate of ammonia
until a white precipitate of oxalate of lime is formed. This precipitate is separated by filtering, washed, dried
and when separated from the filter, is collected upon dark satinized paper; the filter itself is burned and the ash
added to the oxalate of lime. This oxalate of lime is then heated to a dark red heat in a platinum crucible with
lid until the oxalate of lime is converted into carbonate of lime. By the addition of a few drops of carbonate of
ammonia solution and another slight heating of the crucible, also the caustic lime produced in the filter ash by
heating, is reconverted into carbonate of lime, and after cooling in the exsiccator, the whole contents of the
crucible is weighed as carbonate of lime, after deducting the known quantity of filter ash.
Any magnesia present in the filtrate of the oxalate of lime is by the addition of a solution of phosphate of soda
separated as phosphate of ammonia and magnesia, after having stood twenty-four hours. The precipitate is
filtered off, washed with water to which a little chloride of ammonia is added, dried, and after calcining the
fiber and adding the filter ash, glow heated in the crucible. The glowed substance is weighed after cooling,
and is pyrophosphate of magnesia, from which the magnesia or carbonate of magnesia is calculated
stoichiometrically. All the ascertained sums must be multiplied by 2, if they are to correspond to the analyzed
and weighed quantity of ash.
The second half of the filtrate is used for determining the small quantity of sulphate of lime still contained in
the hydrochlorate solution. By adding chloride of barium solution the sulphuric acid is bound to the barytes
and sulphate of baryta separates as white precipitate. This is separated by filtering, washed, dried and weighed
The manufacture of roll tar paper from the roll paper was at first found to be difficult, as it was impossible to
submerge a surface larger than from ten to fifteen square yards, rolled up, in the tar, because more would have
required too large a pan. Besides this, the paper tears easily, when it is in the hot tar. All kinds of experiments
were tried, in order to impregnate the surface of the paper without employing too large a pan.
The following method was tried at first: The roll paper was cut into lengths of ten yards, which were rolled up
loosely, so that a certain space was left between the different coils. These loose rolls, of course, occupied
much space and could be put into the tar only in a standing position, because in a horizontal one the several
coils would have pressed together again. The loose roll was therefore slipped over a vertical iron rod fastened
into a circular perforated wooden foot. The upper end of this iron rod ended in a ring, in which the hook of a
chain or rope could be fastened. With the aid of a windlass the roll was raised or lowered. When placed in the
pan with boiling tar, it was left there until thoroughly saturated. It was then taken out, placed upon a table, and
the excess of tar allowed to drip off into a vessel underneath. After partially drying, the roll was spread out in
open air, occasionally turned, until sufficiently dried, when it was rolled up again.
In order to neutralize the smeary, sticky condition of the surface and avoid the disagreeable drying in open air,
the experiment of strewing sand on the sticky places was tried next. The weight of the paper was largely
increased by the sand, and appeared considerably thicker. For this reason the method of sanding the paper was
at once universally adopted. To dispense with the process of permitting the surplus tar to drip off, means were
devised by which it was taken off by scrapers, or by pressing through rollers. The scrapers, two sharp edged
rods fastened across the pan, were then so placed that the paper was drawn through them. The excess of tar
adhering to its surface was thereby scraped off and ran back into the pan.
This work, however, was performed better and to more satisfaction by a pair of rollers fastened to the pan.
These performed a double duty; thoroughly removed the tar from the surface and by reason of their pressure
they caused a more perfect incorporation of the tar with the fibers of the paper. Finally, different factories
employed different methods of manufacture, one of which was to cut the rolls into definite lengths of about
ten yards; these were then rerolled very loosely and immersed in the hot tar until sufficiently saturated. The
paper was then passed through the roller, much pressure exerted, and then loosely rolled up again. Being
tarred once, it was then laid into a second pan with hot tar, reeled out after a time, strewn with sand, and rolled
up again. Another method was to cut clothes lines into lengths of about fifteen yards, and at a distance of two
inches have knots tied in them. The paper was cut in lengths of ten or fifteen yards, three pieces of the knotted
clothes line were then rolled between the loose coils of paper, which was then submerged in the tar, which on
account of the knots could penetrate the paper. The paper was next sanded by permitting its lower surface to
pass over dry sand in a box standing on the floor. A workman rolled off the paper, and with his hand he strews
sand on the upper surface. The rolling taking place on the edge of a table, by means of a crank, the excess of
sand dropped off.
It is said by this method two workmen, one of which tends to the rolling and sanding, the other turning the
crank, could turn out eighty rolls per day. This method is still in use. It is useless to describe the many
antiquated methods in vogue in smaller factories, and it can truthfully be said that nearly all of them are out of
date. It appears to be the fact of almost all inventions that when reduced to practical use, the arrangements,
apparatus, and working methods employed are generally of the most complicated nature, and time and
experience only will simplify them. This has been also the case with the methods in the roofing paper
industry, which are at present gradually being reduced to a practical basis. The method gradually adopted has
been described in the preceding. The pan is of a certain length, whereby it becomes possible to saturate the
paper by slowly drawing it through the heated tar. This is the chief feature. The work is much simplified
thereby and the workmen need not dip their hands into the tar or soil them with it. The work of impregnating
The roll of paper is mounted upon a shaft at the back end of the pan, and by suitable arrangement of guide
rollers it unwinds slowly, passes into the tar in which it is kept submerged. The guide rollers can be raised so
that when a new roller is set up they can be raised out of the tar. The end of the paper is then slipped
underneath them above the surface of the tar, when having passed through the squeezing rollers, it is fastened
to the beaming roller, and the guide rollers are submerged again. A workman slowly turns the crank of the
beaming roller.
This motion draws the paper slowly through the fluid, the roll at the back end unwinding. The speed with
which the squeezing rollers are turned is regulated in such a manner that the paper remains sufficiently long
underneath the fluid to be thoroughly impregnated with it. The workmen quickly learn by experience how fast
to turn the crank. The hotter the tar, the more rapid the saturation; the high degree of heat expels the air and
evaporates the hygroscopic fluid in the pores of the paper. The strong heating of the tar causes another
advantage connected with this method. The surface of the paper as it issues from the squeezing rollers is still
very hot, and a part of the volatile oils evaporate very quickly at this high temperature. The surface is thereby
at once dried to a certain degree and at the same time receives a handsome luster, as if it had been coated with
a black lacquer. The paper is sanded in a very simple manner without the use of mechanical apparatus; as it is
being wrapped into a coil, it passes with its lower surface over a layer of sand, while the workman who tends
to rolling up strews the inside with sand. The lower surface is coated very equally. Care only being necessary
that the sand lies smooth and even at all times. When the workman has rolled up ten or fifteen yards, he cuts it
across with a knife and straightedge, so that the paper is cut at right angles with its sides.
There are three different sorts of roofing paper, according to the impregnating fluid used in its manufacture.
The ordinary tar paper is that saturated with clear cold tar. This contains the greatest amount of fluid
ingredients and is very raggy in a fresh condition. It is easy to see that the volatile hydrocarbons evaporate in a
short time, and when expelled, the paper becomes stiffer and apparently drier. This drying, or the
volatilization of the hydrocarbons, causes pores between the fibers of the paper. These pores are highly
injurious to it, as they facilitate a process of decomposition which will ruin it in a short time.
Roofing paper can be called good only when it is essentially made from woolen rags, and contains either very
few or no earthy additions. It is beyond doubt that the durability of a roofing paper increases with the quality
of wool fiber it contains--vegetable fibers and earthy additions cause a direct injury. Reprehensible altogether
is any combination with lime, either in form of a carbonate or sulphate, because the lime enters into chemical
combination with the decomposition products of the tar.
The general nature of gravel is too well known to require description. The grains of quartz sand are either
sharp cornered or else rounded pieces of stone of quartz, occasionally mixed with grains of other amorphous
pieces of silica--such as horn stone, silicious slate, carnelian, etc.; again, with lustrous pieces of mica, or red
and white pieces of feldspar. The gravel used for a tar paper roof must be of a special nature and be prepared
for the purpose. The size of its grains must not exceed a certain standard--say, the size of a pea. When found
in the gravel bank, it is frequently mixed with clay, etc., and it cannot be used in this condition for a roof, but
must be washed. The utensils necessary for this purpose are of so simple and suggestive a nature that they
need not be described. Slag is being successfully used in place of the gravel. It is easily reduced to suitable
The thinking mind can easily go one step further and imagine that, since the tar contains a number of volatile
hydrocarbons, it might be made more adaptable for impregnation by paper by distilling it, as by this process
the fluid would lose its tendency to evaporate and the percentage of resinous substances increase. Singular to
say, there was a prejudice against the employment of distilled tar, entertained by builders and people who had
no knowledge of chemistry. Increasing intelligence and altered business circumstances, however, brought
about the almost universal employment of distilled tar, and every large factory uses it at present. The roofing
paper prepared with distilled tar is perhaps most suitably called asphaltum paper, as this has been used in its
manufacture. It possesses properties superior to the ordinary tar paper, one of which is that immediately after
its manufacture, as soon as cold, it is dry and ready for shipment; nor does it require to be kept in store for a
length of time, and it has also a good, firm body, being as flexible and tough as leather. It is very durable upon
the roof, and remains flexible for a long time. It is true that asphaltum papers will always in a fresh state
contain a small percentage of volatile ingredients, which after a while make it hard and friable upon the roof;
but, by reason of its greater percentage of resinous components, it will always preserve a superior degree of
durability and become far less porous. One hundred parts by weight absorb 140 or 150 parts by weight of coal
tar. A factory which distilled a good standard tar for roofing paper recovered, besides benzole and naphtha,
also about ten per cent. of creosote oil, used for one hundred parts raw paper, 176.4 partially distilled tar.
Experiments on a larger as well as a smaller scale reduced this quantity to an average of 141.5 parts for one
hundred parts raw paper. The weight of sanded paper is very variable, as it depends altogether upon the size of
the sand grains. It may be stated generally that the weight of the sand is as large as that of the tarred paper.
The kinds of roofing paper saturated with other additions besides coal tar form a separate class, in order to
neutralize the defects inherent in coal tar. These additions were originally for the purpose of thickening the
paper and making it stiffer and drier. The most ordinary and cheapest thickener was the coal pitch. Although
the resinous substances are increased thereby, still the light tar oils remain to evaporate, and the paper
prepared with such a substance readily becomes hard and brittle. A better addition is the natural asphaltum,
because it resists better the destroying influence of the decomposition process, and also, to a certain degree,
protects the coal tar in which it is dissolved. The addition of natural asphaltum doubtless caused the name of
"asphaltum roofing paper." Resin, sulphur, wood tar and other substances were also used as additions; each
manufacturer kept his method secret, however, and simply pointed out by high sounding title in what manner
his paper was composed. In most cases, however, this appellation was applied to the ordinary tar paper; the
impregnating substance was mixed only with coal pitch, or else a roofing paper saturated with distilled tar.
The costly additions, by the use of which a high grade of roofing paper can doubtless be produced, largely
increased its price, and on account of the constant fall of prices of the article, its use became rather one of
those things "more honored in the breach than in the observance," and was dispensed with whenever
practicable. The crude paper is the foundation of the roofing paper. The qualities of a good, unadulterated
paper have already been stated. At times, the crude paper contains too many earthy ingredients which impair
the cohesion of the felted fibrous substance, and which especially the carbonate of lime is very injurious, as it
readily effects the decomposition of the coal tar. The percentage of wool, upon which the durability of the
paper depends very largely, is very small in some of the paper found in the market. In place of woolen rags,
cheap substitutes have been used, such as waste, which contains vegetable fibers. Since this cannot resist the
decomposition process for any length of time, it is evident that the roofing paper which contains a noticeable
quantity of vegetable fibers cannot be very durable. To judge from the endeavors made to improve the coal
tar, it may be concluded that this material does not fully comply with its function of making the roofing paper
perfectly and durably waterproof. The coal tar, be it either crude or distilled, is not a perfect impregnating
material, and the roofing paper, saturated with it, possesses several defects. Let us in the following try to
ascertain their shortcomings, and then express our idea in what manner the roofing paper may be improved. It
was previously mentioned that every tar roofing paper will, after a greater or smaller lapse of time, assume a
The question concerning the origin of this organic substance or its combination with lime can only be
answered in one way, viz., that it must have been washed by the rain water out of the paper. But since such a
solid substance, easily soluble in water, is contained neither in the fresh roofing paper nor in the coal tar, the
only deduction is that it must have arisen by the decomposition of the tar, in consequence of the operation of
the oxygen. The lime comes from the coating substance of the roof, for which tar mixed with coal pitch was
used. The latter was fused with carbonate of lime. These analyses furthermore show that the formation of the
organic acid easily soluble in water depends upon the season; and that a larger quantity of it is generated in
warm, sunny weather than in cold, without sunshine. This peculiarity of the solid, resinous constituents of the
coal tar, to be by the operation of the atmospheric oxygen altered into such products that are readily soluble in
water, makes the tar very unsuitable as a saturative substance for a roofing paper. How rapidly a paper roof
can be ruined by the generation of this injurious organic acid will be seen from the following calculation: Let
us suppose that an average of 132 gallons of rain water falls upon ten square feet roof surface per year, and
that the arithmetical mean 0.932 of the largest (1.680) and smallest number (0.184) be the quantity of the
soluble brown substance which on an average is dissolved in one quart of rain water; hence from ten square
feet of roof surface are rinsed away with the rain water per year 466 grammes of the soluble decomposition
products of the tar. The oxidation process will not always occur as intensely as by a paper roof, ten years old
and painted two years ago, which instigated above described experiment. As long as the roofing paper is fresh
and less porous, especially if the occurring pores are filled and closed again by repeated coatings, oxidation
will take place far less rapidly. Besides this, the protective coating applied to the roof surface is exposed most
to this oxidation process. Even by assuming this constantly progressive destructive action of the oxygen on
the roofing paper to be much less than above stated, we can readily imagine that it must be quite large. If it is
desired to produce a material free of faults, it is first of all indispensable that unobjectionable raw material be
procured. Coal tar was formerly used almost exclusively for the coating of a roof. It was heated and applied
hot upon the surface. In order to avoid the running off of the thinly fluid mass, the freshly coated surface was
A physical laboratory may be arranged in several ways. The apparatus may be kept in a store room and such
as is needed may be given to the student each day and removed after the experiments are performed; or the
apparatus for each experiment or system of experiments may be kept in a fixed place in the laboratory ready
for assembling; for certain experiments the apparatus may be kept in a fixed place in the laboratory and
permanently arranged for service.
Each student may have his own desk and apparatus or he may be required to pass from desk to desk. The latter
method is preferable.
When a store room is used the services of a man are required to distribute and afterward to collect. If the
apparatus is permanently distributed, a large room is necessary, but the labor of collecting and distributing is
done away with.
There are certain general experiments intended to show the use of measuring instruments which all students
must perform. To illustrate the use of the indicator I have selected an elementary class, although the
instrument is equally applicable to all classes of experiments.
Having selected a suitable room, tables may be placed against the walls between the windows and at other
convenient places. Shallow closets are built upon these tables against the wall; they have glass doors and are
fitted with shelves properly spaced. A large number of light wooden boxes are prepared, numbered from one
up to the limit of the storage capacity of the closets. A number corresponding to that upon the box is placed
upon the shelf, so that each one after removal may be returned to its proper place without difficulty. On the
front of the box is a label upon which is written the experiment to be performed or the name of the apparatus
whose use is to be learned, references to various books, which may be found in the laboratory library, and the
apparatus necessary for the experiment, which ought to be found in the box. If any parts of the apparatus are
too large to be placed in the box, the label indicates by a number where it may be found in the storage case.
The Indicator (see figure).--Some device is evidently desirable to direct the work of a laboratory with the least
trouble and friction possible. I have found that the old fashioned "peg board," formerly used in schools to
record the demerits of scholars, modified as in the following description, leaves nothing to be desired.
The requirements of such an instrument are these: It must show the names of the members of the class; it must
contain a full list of the experiments to be performed; it must refer the student to the book and page where
information in reference to the experiments or apparatus may be found; it must show what experiments are to
be performed by each student at a given time; it must give information as to the place in the laboratory where
the apparatus is deposited; it must show to the instructor what experiments have been performed by each
student; it must prevent the assignment of the same experiment to two students; it must enable the instructor
to assign the same experiment to two or more students; it must form a complete record of what has been done,
what work is incomplete, and what experiments have not yet been assigned; it must also be so arranged that
new experiments or sets of experiments may be exhibited.
A, B, C, etc., are cards upon which are the names of students. 1, 2, 3, etc., are cards like the one described in
the article. The small circles represent unassigned experiments. The black circles (slate nails) represent work
done. The caudate circles (brass nail) represent work assigned.
The indicator consists of a plank of any convenient length and breadth. The front surface is divided into
squares of such size that the pegs may be introduced and withdrawn with ease. At each corner of the squares
holes are bored into which nails may be placed. There is a blank border at the top and another on the left side.
At the top of each vertical column of holes is placed a card holder. This is made of light tin turned up on the
long edges--which are vertical--and tacked to the board. Opposite each horizontal row of holes is a similar tin
card holder, but of greater length, and having its length horizontal. The holders at the top of the board contain
cards upon which the names of the class are written.
Cards, like the following, are prepared for the horizontal holders.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Stewart & Gee 229
Physical Manip. 85 Intensity of Gravity--Borda's Method 39
Glazebrook & Shaw 132
--------------------------------------------------------------
These cards are numbered from one to any desired number and are arranged in the holders consecutively.
Two kinds of nails are provided to fit the holes in the board: An ordinary slate nail and a common picture
frame nail with a brass head. The latter indicates work to be done, the former work done.
To prepare the board for service, brass headed nails are placed opposite each experiment, and below the
names, care being taken not to have more than one nail in the same horizontal row, unless it is intended that
two persons or more are to work upon the same experiment.
There will be no conflict when the brass nails occupy diagonal lines. If they do not, a glance will show the
fact.
After an experiment has been performed and a report made upon the usual blank, the brass nail is removed
and a slate nail put in its place.
The board will show by the slate nails what work has been done by each student, by the brass nails what is yet
to be done, and by the empty holes, experiments which have been omitted or are yet to be assigned. A slate
nail opposite an experiment card indicates that that experiment may now be assigned to another person.
It is evident that the schedule for a whole term may be arranged in a few minutes and that the daily changes
require very little time.
The board is hung in a convenient place. The student as he enters the laboratory looks for his name on the
upper cards and under it for the first brass nail in the vertical column: to the left he finds the experiment card.
On the left hand end of the slip he sees the book references, on the right hand end a number--39 in the sample
card given above. Knowing the number, he proceeds to a desk and finds a box numbered in the same manner.
He removes the box from the closet. On the label of the box is a list of all the apparatus necessary, which he
will find in the box; the label also contains the book references. He performs the experiment, fills up a blank
which he gives to the instructor, puts all the materials back in the box, replaces the box in its proper place in
the closet and proceeds with the next experiment. With this indicator there is no difficulty in managing fifty
students or more.
Comparatively little apparatus need be duplicated. Where apparatus is fixed against a wall a number may be
tacked upon the wall and a card containing the information desired. The procedure is then the same as with the
boxes. The cards on the board being removable, other ones may be inserted containing information in
reference to other boxes having the same number but containing different materials. There can be no
successful tampering with the board, for the record of experiments performed is upon the blanks which the
students turn in and also in the individual note books which are written up and given to the instructor for daily
examination.
Lafayette College.
J.W. MOORE.
A mixture of water and liquefied carbon dioxide upon being discharged through pipes at high pressure causes
the rapid expansion of the gas and converts the mixture into spray more or less frozen, and portions of the
liquid carbon dioxide are frozen, owing to its rapid expansion, and are thus thrown upon the fire in a solid
state, where said frozen carbon dioxide in its further expansion not only acts to put out the fire, but cools the
surface upon which it falls, and thus tends to prevent reignition.
A represents a receptacle sufficiently strong to stand a pressure of not less than a thousand pounds to the
square inch.
B B water receptacles.
FIG. 1
In the drawings we have shown two receptacles B and only one receptacle A; but we do not wish to confine
ourselves to any particular number, nor do we wish to confine ourselves to the horizontal position in which
the receptacles are shown.
C is a pipe leading from the receptacle A to a point at or near the bottom of the receptacle B.
F is a pipe through which the mixture of water and liquefied gas from the receptacle B is forced by the
expansion of said liquefied gas, the said pipe taking the mixture of water and liquefied gas from the bottom of
the receptacle.
FIG. 2
To use the apparatus, open the stop cock D in the pipe C, leading to one of the receptacles B, whereupon,
owing to the lower pressure in the cylinder B, the liquid carbon dioxide expands and rises to the top of the
cylinder A and forces the liquid carbon dioxide into the cylinder B, the same as the superior steam of a boiler
forces the water of the boiler out when the same is tapped below the surface of the liquid. Now upon opening
the tap H, this superior gas forces out the mixture of water and liquid carbon dioxide, which suddenly
expanding causes portions of the globules of liquefied gas to be frozen, and these, being protected by a rapidly
evaporating portion of the liquefied gas, are thrown on the fire in solid particles. At the same time the water is
blown into a spray, which is more or less frozen. The fire is thus rapidly extinguished by the vaporization of
the carbon dioxide and water spray.
SMOKELESS GUNPOWDER.
By HUDSON MAXIM.
During the last forty years leading chemists have continued to experiment with a view to the production of a
gunpowder which should be smokeless. But not until the last few years has any considerable degree of success
been attained.
To be smokeless, a gunpowder must yield only gaseous products of combustion. None of the so-called
smokeless powders are entirely smokeless, although some of them are very nearly so.
The smoke of common black gunpowder is largely due to minute particles of solid matter which float in the
air. About one-half of the total products of combustion of black gunpowder of ordinary composition consists
of potassium carbonate in a finely divided condition and of potassium sulphate, which is produced chiefly by
the burning in the air of potassium sulphide, another production of combustion, as on the outrushing gases it is
borne into the air in a fine state of division.
Another cause for the smoke of gunpowder is the formation of small liquid vesicles which condense from
some of the products of combustion thrown into the air in a state of vapor, in the same manner as vesicles of
aqueous vapor form in the air on the escape of highly heated steam from the whistle of a locomotive.
Broadly speaking, an explosive compound is one which contains, within itself, all the elements necessary for
its complete combustion, and whose heated gaseous products occupy vastly more space than the original
compound. Such compound usually consists of oxygen, associated with other elements, for which it has great
affinity, and from which it is held from more intimate union, or direct chemical combination, under normal
conditions, by being in combination as well with other elements for which it has less affinity, but which it
readily gives up for the stronger affinities when explosion takes place, the other elements either combining
with one another to form new compounds or being set free in an uncombined state.
An explosive is said to detonate when the above changes take place instantaneously, the action being
transmitted with the speed of electricity by a sort of molecular rhythm from molecule to molecule throughout
the entire substance of the compound.
An explosive is said to explode when the above changes do not occur instantaneously throughout the whole
substance, but whose combustion takes place from the surface inward of the particles or grains of which it is
composed, thus requiring some definite lapse of time.
The elements of an explosive compound may be associated chemically as in nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton,
which are chemical compounds, being the results of definite reactions. Or, an explosive may be a mere
SMOKELESS GUNPOWDER. 16
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mechanical mixture of different substances comprising the necessary elements, as is ordinary black
gunpowder, which is a compound of charcoal, sulphur and saltpeter, the saltpeter supplying the necessary
oxygen.
No gunpowder can be smokeless in which saltpeter or any oxygen-bearing salt having a metallic base is
employed, for when the salt gives up its oxygen, the base combines with other elements to produce a sulphate,
a carbonate, or other salt, which, being solid, produces smoke. Therefore, to be smokeless, a gunpowder must
contain no other elements than oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, and in such proportions that the
products of combustion shall be wholly gaseous. The nitric ethers--gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine--constitute
such explosive compounds. These substances were formerly thought to be nitro-substitution compounds, but
are now known to belong to the compound ethers of nitric acid.
Gun-cotton, discovered by Schonbein, in 1845, has since been looked upon as the most promising material for
a smokeless gunpowder, it being a very powerful explosive and burning with practically no smoke. To-day,
gun-cotton, in some form or other, constitutes the base of substantially all of the smokeless powders with
which have been attained any considerable degree of success.
Gun-cotton alone and in its fibrous state has been found to be too quick, or violent, for propulsive purposes,
such as use in firearms; as under such conditions of confinement it is very likely to detonate and burst the gun.
However, if gun-cotton be dissolved in a suitable solvent, which is capable of being evaporated out, such as
acetone, or acetate of ethyl, which are very volatile, it becomes, when thus dissolved and dried, a very hard,
horn-like, amorphous substance, which may be used for a smokeless gunpowder. But this substance taken
alone is very difficult to mould or granulate, and the loss of expensive solvents must necessarily be quite
considerable.
When gun-cotton is reduced to a collodial solid, as above, and used as a smokeless gunpowder, the grains
must be made comparatively small to insure prompt and certain ignition, and consequently the pressures
developed in the gun are apt to be too great when charges sufficiently large are used to give desired velocities.
If, however, a compound be made of gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine, in about equal parts, by means of a
volatile solvent or combining agent, such as one of the before mentioned, and the solvent evaporated out, we
obtain practically a new substance and one which, as regards its explosive nature, is quite unlike either of its
two constituents taken alone. The nitro-glycerine, furthermore, being itself a solvent of gun-cotton, much less
of the volatile ether is necessary to render the compound of an amorphous character. Being quite plastic this
substance may be wrought or moulded into any desired size or form of grain.
This simple compound of nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton, or with some slight modifications, has been found,
when properly granulated, to be the most smokeless powder that has yet been discovered or invented. If pure
chemicals are employed in the manufacture, and the gun-cotton and nitro-glycerine be made of the highest
nitration and best quality, we have a smokeless powder which will possess the following desirable qualities:
1st. It is absolutely smokeless, that is, its products of combustion are entirely gaseous.
3d. It is perfectly safe to manufacture, handle and transport. There is no more danger of its exploding
accidentally than there would be of an explosion of shavings or sawdust; for, unless well confined and set off
with a strong primer, it will not explode at all. In the open its combustion is so slow as to in no way resemble
or partake of the nature of an explosion.
By HUDSON MAXIM. 17
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4th. It is perfectly stable, and will keep any length of time absolutely without undergoing any change
whatever, under all conditions of temperature or exposure to which gunpowder would ever be subjected.
5th. It is not hygroscopic, and may be soaked in water without being at all affected by it.
8th. It is sure of ignition with a good primer, and may be made to burn as slowly as desired by varying the
character and size of the grains. Indeed, it may be made to burn so slowly as to fail of complete combustion
before the bullet leaves the gun, and after firing several rounds, partly burned pieces of the powder may be
picked up in front of the gun.
9th. In a shoulder arm, a velocity of 2,000 feet per second may be imparted to the bullet with this powder, and
with a pressure in the chamber of the gun of not more than fifteen English tons. This is, of course, when the
gun, cartridge case, primer, and projectile are adapted to the use of smokeless powder, and the granulation of
the powder is adapted to them.
If what I have here claimed for the above smokeless powder be true, it would appear that it may be taken as
really an ideal smokeless powder. Why, then, has it not already been universally adopted? Surely such a
powder is just what every government is seeking. In reply to this, let me say that, in order for the above
compound to be an effective and successful smokeless powder, with the manifestation of the many desirable
qualities which I have recited, a great many other conditions are necessary, some of which I will mention. To
arrive at the knowledge that this compound would constitute the best smokeless powder has required a great
deal of experimenting. It was first thought that gun-cotton colloid, without any nitro-glycerine, that is,
gun-cotton dissolved and dried, would burn more slowly, keep better, and give better ballistics than it would if
combined with nitro-glycerine. It was also thought that gun-cotton of a high degree of nitration when made
into colloidal form would even then burn too quickly to be suitable for use in firearms. Consequently, the first
experiments were with low grade gun-cotton, what is called collodion cotton, such as is employed in the
manufacture of celluloid. But, as this would not explode without the addition of some oxygen-bearing
element, various oxygen-bearing salts were combined with it, such as nitrate of potassium, nitrate of
ammonia, nitrate of baryta, etc. Also a great many of the first smokeless powders were made of low grade
gun-cotton combined with nitro-glycerine in varying proportions. These powders would often give very good
results when first made; but low grade gun-cotton or di-nitro-cellulose, as it is called, is a very unstable
compound, and these powders, after giving very promising results, were found to be constantly undergoing
change, sooner or later resulting in complete decomposition.
When nitro-glycerine was first combined with gun-cotton in small quantities, camphor was often added, to
lessen the rapidity of combustion which the nitro-glycerine was supposed to impart and also to render the
compound more plastic, and to tend to prevent the decomposition of the low grade gun-cotton. But camphor
being volatile, would, by its evaporation, cause the powder to constantly change in character. Castor oil has
been found to be a better diluent, as this will not evaporate.
As all of the smokeless powders made of a low grade gun-cotton were found to deteriorate and spoil,
experiments were made with gun-cotton of the highest degree of nitration, both alone and in combination with
nitro-glycerine. These experiments were first conducted in England by private parties and by the British
government, when it was found that high grade gun-cotton would give excellent results if made into a
colloidal solid and used alone, or in combination with certain other constituents. With a view to saving the
large quantity of solvents necessary to reduce the gun-cotton, and to get a more prompt and certain ignition
with a larger grain, experiments were cautiously made by the admixture of varying proportions of
By HUDSON MAXIM. 18
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nitro-glycerine to the gun-cotton when dissolved, or rather along with other solvents in the process of
dissolving it.
It was soon found that nitro-glycerine added in quantities, even equal in weight to the gun-cotton itself, did
not materially increase the rapidity of the explosion of the compound. And it was also found that high grade
gun-cotton, when combined with nitro-glycerine, gave very much better results than low grade gun-cotton.
I have spoken here of high and low grade gun-cotton, when in fact the word gun-cotton should be applied only
to the highest nitro-compound of cellulose. The word gun cotton has always been rather loosely used.
Pyroxyline would be a better word, as this applies to all grades. When cotton fiber is soaked in a large excess
of a mixture of the strongest nitric and sulphuric acids, gun-cotton proper, or that of the highest grade, is
produced. When weaker acids are used, lower grades of nitro-cellulose are formed.
The first mentioned or highest grade gun-cotton, when thoroughly freed from its acids, has always proved to
be a perfectly stable compound. The lower grades have always been found to be unstable and subject to
spontaneous decomposition. Nitro-glycerine has also been erroneously thought to be a very unstable
compound. But experiments have proved that, when made pure, it is perfectly stable.
Having now explained how the knowledge came to be arrived at that the aforementioned compound of highest
grade nitro-glycerine and highest grade gun-cotton would constitute the best basis for a smokeless powder, I
will now mention a few of the other conditions necessary to success with its use, without assuming that
smokeless powder has yet passed its experimental stage, and is beyond further improvement. Nevertheless,
such is the compound which has come to stay as the basis of all smokeless powders; and any smokeless
powder, if a successful one, may be counted upon as being made of this compound of gun-cotton and
nitro-glycerine, or of a colloid of gun-cotton, either alone or combined with diluents, oxygen-bearing salts, or
inert matter. The fact that smokeless powder may still be said to be in somewhat of an experimental stage is
not to admit that it is not a success. Firearms, cartridge cases, and projectiles are also still in an experimental
stage, for they are constantly being improved; yet their use has been a great success for a good many years.
The question of success of a smokeless powder does not rest alone with the powder itself. The gun, the
cartridge case, primer, and bullet have been as much the subjects of experiments in adapting them to the use
of smokeless powder as has the smokeless powder in being adapted to them. To impart a velocity of 2,000
feet per second to a rifle ball, with corresponding long range and accuracy of flight, has been a question as
much of improvement in rifles and projectiles as in the powder. To give a velocity of 2,000 feet per second to
a bullet, requires a pressure of at least 15 English tons in the chamber of a gun. This would be a dangerous
pressure in an old-fashioned shoulder arm; while a bullet made only of lead would strip on striking the rifling
and pass right through the barrel of the gun without taking any rotary motion whatever. It might at first seem
that the powder is the only thing to be considered; but high ballistics can only be obtained when everything
else is adapted to its use.
The projectile, the cartridge case, the fulminating cap, and the gun have had to be all built up together, and a
very large amount of experimenting has been necessary to determine what would constitute the best projectile,
best cartridge case, best fulminating cap, and what should be the character of the rifling and the quality and
temper of the steel of the gun barrel.
It has been necessary first to conduct experiments to test the smokeless powders for velocities and pressures,
and then with the powders test various kinds of projectiles and guns. In order to obtain the high ballistics
which have been secured, it has been found necessary to cover the bullet with something harder than lead and
to rifle the gun in a special manner.
By HUDSON MAXIM. 19
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The French, who were the first to definitely adopt smokeless powder, were the first also to make a rifle,
projectile, cartridge case and primer suited to its use.
To obtain long range with a small long bullet such as is now used, it should rotate at a very high speed. It is
well known to artillerists that a projectile of four or more calibers in length has to be rotated at a much higher
speed than one of half that length, in order to keep the projectile stiff in the air, and to prevent it from ending
over in its flight. To communicate this very high rotary movement to the bullet in the instant of time during
which it is passing through the barrel, the rifling of the gun has to exert an enormous torsion on the bullet.
Lead, no matter how hardened, is not sufficiently strong, as it will not only strip and pass straight through the
gun without taking any rotary movement whatever, but under such very high pressures it behaves like wax,
and is thrown from the gun in a distorted mass.
The French cover their bullets with German silver, a substance made of nickel, zinc and copper; and in order
to put as little strain upon the rifling and projectile as possible, the rifling of the gun is made with an
increasing twist, and has no sharp edges. The French rifle is made very strong at the breech and is of tempered
steel throughout. In this way the French have made smokeless powder a success--a smokeless powder made
substantially of a character such as I have herein described. With smokeless powder, the French rifle imparts a
muzzle velocity of 2,000 feet per second to the bullet, with a range of about 2,400 meters.
If smokeless powder be divided into sufficiently small grains to be ignited by an ordinary fulminating cap, it
would burn too quickly, thereby causing the pressure to mount too high, and without giving the desired
velocity. Consequently very large and strong fulminating caps have to be employed. Smokeless powder is not
ignited in the same manner as black powder. Something besides ignition is necessary. Black powder simply
requires to be set on fire; while a smokeless powder, on the contrary, not only requires that it be set on fire,
but that a certain degree of pressure be set up inside of the cartridge case. For instance, if a primer of a certain
size should be found to operate perfectly well, giving prompt ignition in the cartridge case of a rifle of small
caliber, it would be found that the same primer would not ignite a charge of the same powder if loaded into a
gun of one inch caliber. In the latter case a few grains only lying near the primer would be ignited, and these
would soon become extinguished by sudden release of pressure bringing about a cooling effect due to
expansion of the gases. In small cartridges a large fulminating cap is all that is required, but in large cartridges
it is necessary to resort to additional means of ignition.
In France, where experiments were conducted with a 37 millimeter Maxim gun, it was found to be
impracticable to use a fulminating cap sufficiently large to ignite the powder and cause it to burn. Therefore, a
small ignition charge of black powder was employed, it being put in a capsule or bag and placed next the
primer. On firing at the rate of 300 rounds per minute, the black powder, though small in quantity, produced a
cloud of smoke through which it was quite impossible to see. The inventor of the gun then prepared for the
French some wafers of pyroxyline canvas, which were placed next to the primer, securing thereby prompt
ignition without the production of any smoke.
Smokeless powder, made as I have described, cannot be detonated by a fulminating cap of any size or by any
means whatever. A large charge of fulminate of mercury placed inside the cartridge case next the primer will
not detonate the powder, it serving only to ignite it and cause it to explode. But even this would not cause the
powder to explode except it be confined behind a projectile, that sufficient pressure may be run up to make it
burn in its own gases.
Some curious experiments with smokeless powder may be tried with a shot gun. If the fulminating cap be
large, the powder fine, the wads numerous and hard and the charge of shot heavy, all being well rammed
down, and the paper case well spun over the last pasteboard wad, a charge of smokeless powder about equal
in weight to one-half of what would be employed of black powder would give about the same results as black
powder. But if the charge of shot be omitted, the primer will only ignite the powder, and there will be set up
By HUDSON MAXIM. 20
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sufficient pressure merely to throw the wads about half way up the barrel of the gun, when the powder will go
out. Now if this same charge of powder be collected and reloaded into a new cartridge case and well confined
behind wads and a charge of shot, as above explained, it will all burn, giving the same results as black
powder.
Attempts have been made to use this powder in pistols and revolvers, but here it has proved a failure, as the
pressure is not great enough to cause the powder to be consumed, unless it be in the form of very fine grains
or dust, in which case the pressure mounts too high. However, this might be overcome to a degree by making
the powder porous. The chemical conditions of the powder might be the same, but the physical conditions
must be different. A powder suitable for shot guns and pistols would not be suitable for rifles.
One not familiar with the characteristics of smokeless powder would be almost certain to fail in his first
attempt to fire it. Many persons have been convinced by their first experiments that this powder would not
burn at all in a gun, any more than so much sand.
Smokeless powder is consumed with a rapidity which accords with the conditions of its confinement.
Therefore, the bullets which have been experimented with by different governments have been the cause of
much of the varying pressures attributed to the smokeless powders.
The Austrians use the Mannlicher steel jacketed bullet. The steel casing or jacket is first tinned on the inside
and then the lead is cast in, thus melting the tin and adhering firmly to the jacket. This projectile sets up
enormous friction in the barrel of the gun when used with smokeless powder; as the smokeless powder leaves
the gun barrel perfectly clean and the two steel surfaces being in absolute contact cause tremendous friction;
and as the coefficient of friction varies with every shot, the pressure in the gun constantly varies greatly.
The German silver covered bullet used by the French has the disadvantage that when firing rapidly the
chamber of the barrel becomes nickel plated and great friction is caused, mounting up the pressures and
causing the muzzle velocities to fall off.
The Austrians, in order to prevent their steel cased bullets from rusting and to lessen the friction in the barrel
of the gun, cover them with a heavy lubricant, which gives the cartridges an unsightly appearance and causes
them to gather dust and sand. The French employ a lubricant at the base of the projectile, with a small copper
disk between the same and the powder.
Col. A.R. Buffington, commander of the National Armory at Springfield, Mass., has made a steel covered
projectile which he prevents from rusting by blackening by a niter process. Several grooves are pressed in the
base of the bullet which carry a lubricant, and when the bullet is inserted in the cartridge case the grooves are
covered by it. Furthermore, these grooves prevent the lead filling from bursting through the steel casing,
leaving the latter in the barrel, as often occurs with the Austrian and French projectiles when using smokeless
powder.
A new projectile has lately come out, the invention of Captain Edward Palliser, of the British army. This
bullet consists of a jacket made of very soft Swedish wrought iron, coated with zinc and filled with lead, the
lead being pressed into this jacket. The bullet is corrugated at its base, after the manner of the one made by
Colonel Buffington. This projectile has been experimented with very extensively by the British government,
and at the works of the Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, in England. The zinc coating of
the bullet is too soft to stick to the barrel of the gun, and also in a measure acts as a lubricant. This projectile
has given better results than any other that has been experimented with. The great velocities and the most
uniform pressures by the use of smokeless powder have been attained with this Palliser bullet.
By HUDSON MAXIM. 21
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NOISELESSNESS.
A great many stories have been told about the noiselessness of smokeless powder. But there is no such thing
as a noiseless gunpowder. The report of a gun charged with smokeless powder is very sharp, and is as loud as
when black powder is used, yet the volume of sound is much less, so that the report cannot be heard at so
great a distance.
The report of a gun using smokeless powder is a sound of much higher pitch than when black powder is used,
and consequently cannot be heard at so great a distance as the lower notes given by black powder.
As smokeless powder exerts a much greater pressure than common black powder when burned in a gun, one
would naturally think that the recoil of the barrel would be greater, owing to the greater pressure exerted by
the smokeless powder on the base of the cartridge case and the breech mechanism. However, such is not the
fact; for the barrel actually recoils very much less when smokeless powder is used. This is due to the
suddenness with which the pressure is exerted by smokeless powder, it acting more like a very sharp blow on
the metal, whereby more of the energy is converted into heat instead of being spent in overcoming the inertia
of the barrel to give recoil. Similarly when smokeless powder is fired in a gun, the displacement of the air is
so sudden that the sound waves do not possess the same amplitude of recoil or vibration as is given by black
powder.
By S.B. FOWLER.
The numerous disastrous storms of the last winter have brought out very vividly the advantages of having all
wires placed underground, and many inquiries have been addressed to the companies operating underground
circuits as to their success. It is not probable that all of the answers to these inquiries have been of the most
favorable character. To many central station managers an underground system means frequent break-downs
and interruptions of service, with, perhaps, slow and expensive repairs, which bring in their turn numerous
complaints, loss of customers, and reduced profits. In many installations burn-outs both underground and in
the station are frequent, with the natural result that the operating of circuits underground is not there
considered an unqualified success. The writer has in mind two very different experiences with underground
cables. Several miles of cable were bought by a certain company, carefully laid, and up to to-day not a single
burn-out or interruption of service can be attributed to failure of cables; at about the same time another
company bought about an equal amount of the same kind of cable, and in a comparatively short time the
current had to be shut off the lines and the whole installation repaired and parts of it replaced. Both of these
experiences have been repeated many times and will be again, although it is simply a distinction between a
good cable properly laid and a good cable ruined by careless and incompetent workmanship.
Every failure can be traced to poor work in the original installation or to the use of a cheap cable, both causes
being due, generally, to that false economy which looks for too quick returns. A poorly insulated line wire and
a poorly insulated cable are two very different things. However, it is a fact that by the use of a good cable it is
not difficult to construct an underground system for light, power, telegraph or telephone uses that will be
superior to overhead lines in its service and in cost of maintenance. The ideal underground system must have
as a starting point a system of subways admitting of the easy drawing in and out of cables and affording
NOISELESSNESS. 22
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means of making subsidiary connections readily and with the minimum of expense and interruption of service.
This is practically accomplished by a subway consisting of lines of pipe terminating at convenient intervals,
say at street intersections, in manholes, for convenience in jointing and in running out house connections.
These pipes, or ducts, as they are called, should be for two kinds of service; the lower or deeper laid lines for
the main or trunk circuits, and a second series of ducts laid nearer the surface, running into service boxes
placed near together for lines to "house to house" connections. In some cities where it is allowed to run
overhead lines, the plan of running but one service connection in a block is followed, all customers in the
block being supplied from a line run over the housetops or strung on the rear walls.
This makes unnecessary all subsidiary ducts except a short one from the manhole to the nearest building in the
block, and effects a considerable saving in pipe, service boxes, cables and labor. The manholes should have
their walls built up of brick, the floors should be of concrete, and there should be an inside lid which can be
fastened down and the manhole thus made water-tight.
For ducts wood, iron or cement lined pipe may be used. To preserve the wood it is generally treated with
creosote, which, in contact with the lead cover of the cable, sets up a chemical action, resulting in the
destruction of the lead. Wood offers but little protection for the cable, as it is too easily damaged and broken
through in the frequent street openings made by companies operating lines of pipe in the streets, and as one of
the main purposes of a subway is that of a protection to cables, wooden ducts have little to recommend them
except their cheapness.
Iron pipes are either laid in trenches filled in with earth or are laid in cement. Iron pipe will of course rust out
in time, and if absolute permanence in construction is desired, should be laid in cement, for after the pipe rusts
out, the duct of cement is still left. However, if we are going to the expense of laying in cement, it would be
much preferable to use cement lined pipe, which is not only cheaper than iron pipe, but makes the most
perfect cable conduit, as it affords a perfectly smooth surface to draw the cable over and give a good duct
edge.
It is not necessary, however, in small installations of cable, especially where additional connections will not
be of frequent occurrence, to go to the expense of subways, for cable may be safely laid in the ground in
trenches filled in with earth, or can be inclosed in a plain wooden box or a wooden box filled with pitch.
There are, of course, many localities where, if the cable is laid in contact with the earth, a chemical action
would take place which might result in the destruction of the cable.
Underground cables are of the following classes: 1. Rubber insulated cables, insulated with rubber or other
homogeneous material. 2. Fibrous cables, so called from the conductors being covered with some fibrous
material, as cotton or paper, which is saturated with the insulating material, paraffine, resin oil, or some
special compound. Under this latter head is also included the dry core paper cables.
The first thing to do is to get the cable drawn into the ducts, and on the proper accomplishment of this
depends to a great extent the success or failure of the whole installation. Probably the ducts have been wired
when the subway was constructed, but if not a wire must be run through as a means of pulling in the draw
rope. There are several kinds of apparatus for getting a wire through a duct--rods, flexible tapes, mechanical
"creepers," etc.; but probably the best is the sectional rod. This simply consists of three or four foot lengths of
hard wood rods, having metal tips that screw into each other. A rod is placed in a duct at a manhole, one
screwed to that, both are pushed forward, another one added and pushed forward, and so on until they extend
the entire length of the duct. Then the wire is attached and the rods are pulled out and detached one at a time
and with the last rod the wire is through. At least No. 14 galvanized iron or steel wire should be used, for any
smaller size cannot be used a second time, as a rule. In starting to pull in the draw rope a wire brush should be
attached to the wire and to this again the rope, and when the brush arrives at the distant end of the duct it very
By S.B. FOWLER. 23
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likely will bring with it a miscellaneous collection of material which for the good of the cable had better be in
the manhole than in the duct.
The reel or drum carrying the cable should be mounted on wheels or jacks and placed on the same side of the
manhole as the duct into which the cable is to be drawn, and must always be so placed that the cable will run
off the top of the reel.
There are several methods of attaching the draw rope to the cable. As simple and strong a method as any is to
punch two of these holes through the cable, lead and all, and attach the rope by means of an iron wire--some
of the draw wire will do--run through these holes. Depending on the length and weight of cable to be pulled it
can be drawn either by hand or by a multiplying winch. The rope should run through a block fastened in the
manhole in such a position that the rope shall have a good straightaway lead from the mouth of the duct.
The strain on the cable should be perfectly uniform and steady; if the power is applied by a series of jerks
either the lead covering may be pulled apart or some of the conductors broken. At the reel there must always
be a large enough number of men to turn it and keep the cable from rubbing on anything, and in the manhole
one or more men to see that the cable feeds into the duct straight and to guide it if necessary. If the ducts are
of iron and are not perfectly smooth at the ends, these should be made so with a file, and in addition a
protector of some sort should be placed in the mouths of the duct, both above and below the cable. Six inches
of lead pipe, split lengthwise and bent over at one end to prevent being drawn into the duct with the cable,
makes a very good protector. The cable should be reeled off the drum just fast enough to prevent any of the
power used in pulling the cable through the duct being utilized in unreeling it. If this latter is allowed to occur
the cable will be bent too short and the lead covering buckled or broken, and also the cable may be jammed
against the upper edge of the duct and perhaps cut through.
If the reel is allowed to turn faster than the cable is drawn in, the first three or four turns on the reel will
slacken up, and the lead covering may either be dented or cut through by scraping on the ground. If the cable
end when pulled through up to the block is not long enough to bend around the hole more than half way, the
rope should be unfastened from its end, a length of rope with a well frayed out end should be run through the
block, and by fastening to the cable close to the duct, with a series of half hitches, as much slack as necessary
can be pulled in. If this is properly manipulated there need not be a scratch on the cable, but unless great care
is taken the lead may be pressed up into ridges and the core itself damaged.
Immediately after the cable is drawn in, if the joint is not to be at once made, the open end or ends should be
cut off and the cable soldered up, as most cables are very susceptible to moisture and readily absorb water
even from the atmosphere. Where practicable it is always a good plan to pull the cable through as many
manholes as possible without cutting the cable; for the joint is, especially in telephone or telegraph cables, the
weak point. To do this the rope should be pulled through the proper duct in the next section without
unfastening it from the cable; the winch should be moved to the next manhole, and pulling through then done
as before. There should always be a man in every hole through which the cable is running to see that it does
not bind anywhere and to keep protectors around the cable.
It is not advisable to pull more than one cable into a duct, and never advisable to pull a cable into a duct
containing another cable, but if two or more cables have to go into the same duct, they should always be
drawn in together. Lead covered cables and those with no lead on the outside should never be pulled into the
same duct, for if they bind anywhere the soft cable will suffer where two lead covered cables would get
through all right. Some manufacturers are now putting on their cables a tape or braid covering, which saves
the lead many bad bruises and cuts, and is a valuable addition to a cable at very little additional expense.
Practically all electric light and power cables are either single or double conductors, and the jointing of these
is comparatively a simple matter, although requiring considerable care. The lead is cut back from each end
By S.B. FOWLER. 24
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scientific American Supplement, 821
about four or five inches, and the conductors bared of insulation for two or three inches. The bare conductors
should be thoroughly tinned by dipping in the metal pot or pouring the melted solder over them. A sperm
candle is better than resin or acid for any part of the operations where solder is used. A lead sleeve is here
slipped back over the cable, out of the way, and the ends of the conductors brought together in a copper sleeve
which is then sweated to a firm joint. This part must be as good a piece of work mechanically as electrically.
The bare splice is then wrapped tightly with cotton or silk tape to a thickness slightly greater than that of the
insulation of the cable, and is thoroughly saturated with the insulating compound until all moisture previously
absorbed by the tape is driven off.
The lead sleeve is then brought over the splice and wiped to the cable. The joint is then filled with the
insulating compound poured through holes in the top of the sleeve; these holes are then closed and the joint is
complete, and there is no reason why, in light and power cables, that joint should not be as perfect as any
other part of the cable. When the cable ends are prepared for jointing they should be hung up in such a
position that they are in the same plane, both horizontal and vertically, and firmly secured there, so that when
the lead sleeve is wiped on the conductor may be in its exact center, and great care must be taken not to move
the cables again until the sleeve is filled and the insulation sufficiently cooled to hold the conductor in
position.
It is also very important to see that there are no sharp points on the conductors themselves, on the copper
sleeve, on the edges of the lead covering or on the lead sleeve. All these should be made perfectly smooth, for
points facilitate disruptive discharges. Branch joints had better be made as T-joints rather than as Y-joints, for
they are better electrically and mechanically, although they occupy more room in the manholes. They are of
course made in the same way as straight joints, a lead T-sleeve being used, however. For multiple arc circuits
copper T-sleeves and for series circuits copper L-sleeves are used.
Telephone and telegraph cables are made of any required gauge of wire and with from 1 to 150 conductors in
a cable. In jointing these the splices are never soldered, the conductors being joined either with a twist joint or
with the so-called Western Union splice. Each splice is covered with a cotton or silk sleeve or a wrapping of
tape, the latter being preferable, although considerably increasing the time necessary for making the joint.
Great care must be taken that no ends of wire are left sticking up, for they will surely work their way through
the tape and grounds, and crosses will be the result. The wires should always be joined layer to layer and each
splice very tightly taped in order to get as much insulating compound around each splice as possible in the
limited space. The splices should be "broken" as much as possible, so as to avoid having adjoining splices
coming over each other. After the joint has been saturated with insulating compound the wires should have an
outside wrapping of tape to keep them in shape, and then the sleeve is wiped on and filled. If the insulation
resistance of the jointed telegraph or telephone cable is a quarter of what the cable tested in the factory, it may
be considered that an exceptionally good piece of work has been done. I have spoken more particularly of
fibrous lead covered cables, as the handling of them includes practically every step of the work on any other
kind of underground cable. In insulating dry core paper cables a paper sleeve is slipped over the splice, and in
rubber cables the splice is wrapped with rubber tape; all other details are the same for these as for the fibrous
cable.
In the laying of light and power cables every joint, as made, should be tested for insulation with a Thomson
galvanometer, as the insulation must necessarily be very high, and if one joint or section of cable is any
weaker than another it may be very important in the future to know it. All tests must be made after the joint
has cooled, for while hot its insulation resistance will be very low.
Tests for copper resistance should also be made to determine if the splices are electrically perfect; an
imperfect splice may cause considerable trouble. In telegraph and telephone cables the conductors should be
of very soft copper, for in stripping the conductor of insulation it is very easy to nick the wire, and if of hard
drawn copper open wires will be the result.
By S.B. FOWLER. 25
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scientific American Supplement, 821
All work should be frequently tested for continuity with telephones, magnetos, or small portable
galvanometers. It is only necessary to ground the conductors at one end and try each wire at the other end. For
this sort of work a telephone receiver used with one cell of some dry battery is most convenient, and has the
additional advantage of affording a means of communication while testing, and is by far the best thing for
identifying and tagging conductors.
These cables should be frequently tested during the progress of the work for grounds and crosses with a
Thomson instrument, and when the cable is complete, a careful series of tests of the capacity, insulation
resistance, and copper resistance of each wire should be made and the exact condition of the cable determined
before it is put in service, and thereafter an intelligent oversight of the condition of the circuits can thus be
more readily maintained.
Where a company has extensive underground service, a regular cable gang should be in its employ, for quick
and safe handling of cables demands the employment of men accustomed to the work. If the cable has been
properly laid and tests show it to be in good condition before current is turned on, almost the only trouble to
be anticipated will be due to mechanical injury. Disruptive discharge, puncturing the lead, may occur; but the
small chance of its occurring can be greatly lessened by the use of some kind of "cable protector," which will
provide for the spark an artificial path of less resistance than the dielectric of the condenser, which the cable in
fact becomes.
If a fault suddenly develops on a circuit, the chances are it will be found in a manhole, and an inspection of
the cable in the manhole will generally reveal the trouble without resorting to locating with a Wheatstone
bridge. The cable is often cut through at the edge of the duct, or damaged by something falling on it, or by
some one "walking all over it." To guard against these, the ducts should always be fitted with protectors both
above and below the cable. The cables should never be left across the manholes, for they then answer the
purpose of a ladder, but should be bent, around the walls of the hole and securely fastened with lead straps,
that they may not be moved and the lead gradually worn through.
In telegraph cables, when one or two conductors "go," it will probably be useless to look for trouble except
with instruments; but if several wires are "lost" at once it will probably be found to be caused by mechanical
injury, which can be located by inspection. If it is ever necessary to loop out conductors, a joint can be readily
opened and the conductors wanted picked out and connected into the branch cable and the joint again closed
without disturbing the working wires. In doing this a split sleeve must be used, and the only additional
precaution to be taken is in filling the sleeve to have the insulating compound not hot enough to melt the
solder and open up the split in the sleeve. In cutting in service on light and power cables it is entirely
practicable to do so without interruption of service on multiple arc circuits, even those of very high voltage;
but they require great precaution and involve considerable risk to the jointer, and where possible the circuit to
which the connection is to be made should previously be cut dead. Where the voltage is not dangerous to
human life, almost any service connection can be made without interruption of service.
I have only indicated a very few of the operations that may be found necessary, and the probable causes of
troubles that may be encountered in the operating of underground circuits, believing that the different
problems that arise can, with a little experience, be successfully met by any one who has a fair knowledge of
the original construction of cable lines.--Electrical World.
By S.B. FOWLER. 26
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scientific American Supplement, 821
It was, indeed, impossible for any one to foresee the triumphs of engineering which have accompanied the
advances in transportation. To the engineer of the present day there are no impossibilities. The engineer is a
wizard at whose command space and matter are annihilated. The highest mountain, the deepest valley, has no
terrors for him. He can bridge the latter and encircle or tunnel the former. The only requisites which he
demands are that something in his line be needed, and that the money is forthcoming to defray the expense,
and the thing will be done. But the railroad he is asked to construct must be necessary, and the necessity must
be plainly shown, or no funds will be advanced; and although the theory does not invariably hold good,
especially when a craze for railroad building is raging, as a rule no expense for the construction of a road will
be incurred without a prospect of remuneration.
Hence the need of railroad communication has caused lines to be constructed through districts where only a
few years ago the thing would have been deemed impossible. The Pacific roads of this country were a
necessity long before their construction, and in the face of difficulties almost insuperable were carried to
successful completion. So, also, of the railroads in the Andes of South America. The famous road from Callao
through the heart of Peru is one of the highest mountain roads in the world, as well as of the most difficult
construction. The grades are often of 300 feet and more to the mile, and when the mountains were reached so
great were the difficulties the engineers were forced to confront that in some places laborers were lowered
from cliffs by ropes in order that, with toil and difficulty, they might carve a foothold in order to begin the
cutting for the roadway.
In some sections tunnels are more numerous than open cuts, and so far as the road has gone sixty-one tunnels,
great and small, have been constructed, aggregating over 20,000 feet in length. The road attains a height of
15,000 feet above the level of the sea, and at the highest point of the track is about as high as the topmost peak
of Mont Blanc. It pierces the range above it by a tunnel 3,847 feet long. The stern necessities of business
compelled the construction of this road, otherwise it never would have been begun.
The tunnels of the Andes, however, do not bear comparison with the tunnels, bridges, and snow sheds of the
Union Pacific, nor do even these compare with the vast undertakings in the Alps--three great tunnels of nine
to eleven miles in length, which have been prepared for the transit of travelers and freight. The requirements
of business necessitated the piercing of the Alps, and as soon as the necessity was shown, funds in abundance
were forthcoming for the enterprise.
But tunneling a mountain is a different thing from climbing it. Many years ago the attention of inventors was
directed to the practicability of constructing a railroad up the side of a mountain on grades which, to an
ordinary engine, were quite impossible. The improvements in locomotives twenty-five and thirty years ago
rendered them capable of climbing grades which, in the early days of railroad engineering, were deemed out
of the question. The improvements proved a serious stumbling block in the way of the inventors, who found
that an ordinary locomotive was able to climb a much steeper grade than was commonly supposed. The first
railroads were laid almost level, but it was soon discovered that a grade of a few feet to the mile was no
impediment to progress, and gradually the grade was steepened.
The inventors of mountain railroad transportation might have been discouraged by this discovery, but it is a
characteristic of an inventor that he is not set back by opposition, which, in fact, only serves to stimulate his
zeal. The projectors of inclined roads and mountain engines kept steadily on, and in France, Germany,
England, and the United States many experimental roads were constructed, each of a few hundred yards in
length, and locomotive models were built and put in motion to the amazement of the general public, who
jeered alike at the contrivances and the contrivers, deeming the former impracticable and the latter crazy.
But the idea of building a road up the side of a hill was not to be dismissed. There was money in it for the
successful man, so the cranky inventors kept on at work in spite of the jeers of the rabble and the
discouragements of capitalists loath to invest their money in an uncertain scheme. To the energy and
perseverance of railroad inventors the success of the mountain railroad is due, as also is the construction of the
various mountain roads, of which the road up Mt. Washington, finished in 1868, was the first, and the road up
Pike's Peak, completed the other day, was the latest.
Of all the mountain roads which have been constructed since the one up Mt. Washington was finished, the
best known is that which ascends the world-famous Rigi. With the exception of Mont Blanc, Rigi is, perhaps,
the best known of any peak in the Alps, though it is by no means the highest, its summit being but 5,905 feet
above the level of the sea. Although scarcely more than a third of the height of some other mountains in the
Alps, it seems much higher because of its isolated position. Standing as it does between lakes Lucerne, Zug,
and Lowertz, it commands a series of fine views in every direction, and he who looks from the summit of
Rigi, if he does no other traveling in Switzerland, can gain a fair idea of the Swiss mountain scenery. Many of
the most noted peaks are in sight, and from the Rigi can be seen the three lakes beneath, the villages which
here and there dot the shores, and, further on, the mighty Alps, with their glaciers and eternal snows.
Many years ago a hotel was built on the summit of the Rigi for the benefit of the tourists who daily flocked to
this remarkable peak to enjoy the benefit of its wonderful scenery. The mountain is densely wooded save
where the trees have been cut away to clear the land for pastures. The ease of its ascent by the six or eight
mule paths which had been made, the gradual and almost regular slope, and the throngs of travelers who
resorted to it, made it a favorable place for an experiment, and to Rigi went the engineers in order to ascertain
the practicability of such a road. The credit of the designs is due to a German engineer named Regenbach,
who, about the year 1861, designed the idea of a mountain road, and drew up plans not only for the bed but
also for the engine and cars. The scheme dragged. Capitalists were slow to invest their money in what they
deemed a wild and impracticable undertaking, and even the owners of the land on the Rigi were reluctant for
such an experiment to be tried. But Regenbach persevered, and toward the close of the decade the inhabitants
of Vitznau, at the base of the Rigi, were astonished to see gangs of laborers begin the work of making a
clearing through the forests on the mountain slope. They inquired what it meant, and were told that a road up
the Rigi was to be made. The Vitznauers were delighted, for they had no roads, and there was not a wheeled
vehicle in the town, nor a highway by which it could be brought thither. The idea of a railroad in their desolate
mountain region, and, above all, a railroad up the Rigi, never entered their heads, and a report which some
time after obtained currency in the town, that the laborers were beginning the construction of a railroad, was
greeted with a shout of derision.
Nevertheless, that was the beginning of the Rigi line, and in May, 1871, the road was opened for traffic. It
begins at Vitznau, on Lake Lucerne, and extends to the border of the canton and almost to the top of the
mountain. It is 19,000 feet long, and during that distance rises 4,000 feet at an average grade of 1 foot in 4.
Though steep, it is by no means so much so as the Mt. Washington road, which rises 5,285 feet above the sea,
at an average of 1 foot in 3. There are, however, stretches of the Rigi road at which the grade is about 1 foot in
2½, which is believed to be the steepest in the world.
Curious sensations are produced by a ride up this remarkable line. The seats of the cars are inclined like the
boiler of the locomotive, and so long as the cars are on a level the seats tilt at an angle which renders it almost
impossible to use them. But when the start is made the frightful tilt places the body in an upright position, and,
with the engine in the rear, the train starts up the hill with an easy, gliding motion, passing up the ascent,
somewhat steeper than the roof of a house, without the slightest apparent effort. But if the going up excites
tremor, much more peculiar are the feelings aroused on the down grade. The trip begins with a gentle descent,
and all at once the traveler looking ahead sees the road apparently come an end. On a nearer approach he is
undeceived and observes before him a long decline which appears too steep even to walk down. Involuntarily
he catches at the seats, expecting a great acceleration of speed. Very nervous are his feelings as the train
approaches this terrible slope, but on coming to the incline the engine dips and goes on not a whit faster than
before and not more rapidly on the down than on the up grade. Many people are made sick by the sensation of
falling experienced on the down run. Some faint, and a few years ago one traveler, supposed to be afflicted
with heart disease, died of fright when the train was going over the Schnurtobel bridge. The danger is really
very slight, there not having been a serious accident since the road was opened. The attendants are watchful,
the brakes are strong, but even with all these safeguards, men of the steadiest nerves cannot help wondering
what would become of them in case anything went wrong.
Bold as was the project of a railroad on the Rigi, a still bolder scheme was broached ten years later, when a
daring genius proposed a railroad up Mt. Vesuvius. A railroad up the side of an ordinary mountain seemed
hazardous enough, but to build a line on the slope of a volcano, which in its eruption had buried cities, and
every few years was subject to a violent spasm, seemed as hazardous as to trust the rails of an ordinary line to
the rotten river ice in spring time. The proposal was not, however, so impracticable as it looked. While the
summit of Vesuvius changes from time to time from the frequent eruptions, and varies in height and in the
size of the crater, the general slope and contour of the mountain are about the same to-day as when Vesuvius,
a wooded hill, with a valley and lake in the center of its quiescent crater, served as the stronghold of Spartacus
and his rebel gladiators. There have been scores of eruptions since that in which Herculaneum and Pompeii
were overthrown, but the sides of the mountain have never been seriously disturbed.
A road on Vesuvius gave promise of being a good speculation. Naples and the other resorts of the
neighborhood annually attracted many thousands of visitors, and a considerable number of these every year
ascended the volcano, even when forced to contend with all the difficulties of the way. Many, however,
desiring to ascend, but being unable or unwilling to walk up, a chair service was established--a peculiar chair
being slung on poles and borne by porters. In course of time the chair service proved to be inadequate for the
numbers who desired to make the ascent, and the time was deemed fit for the establishment of more speedy
communication.
The fashion thus set will, no doubt, be followed in many other quarters. Wherever there is sufficient travel to
pay working expenses and a profit on a steep grade mountain road it will probably be built. Already there is
talk of a road on Mont Blanc, of another up the Yungfrau, and several have been projected in the Schwartz
and Hartz mountains. A route on Ben Nevis, in Scotland, is already surveyed, and it is said surveys have also
been made up Snowden, with a view to the establishment of a road to the summit of the highest Welsh peak.
Sufficient travel is all that is necessary, and when that is guaranteed, whenever a mountain possesses
sufficient interest to induce people to make its ascent in considerable numbers, means of transportation, safe
and speedy, will soon be provided. The modern engineer is able, willing and ready to build a road to the top of
Mt. Everest in the Himalayas if he is paid for doing so.--St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
To clean hair brushes, wash with weak solution of washing soda, rinse out all the soda, and expose to sun.
THE MARCEAU.
THE MARCEAU. 30
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The Marceau, the last ironclad completed and added to the French navy, was put in commission at Toulon in
April last, and has lately left that town to join the French squadron of the north at Brest. The original designs
of this ship were prepared by M. Huin, of the French Department of Naval Construction, but since the laying
down of the keel in the year 1882 they have been very considerably modified, and many improvements have
been introduced.
Both ship and engines were constructed by the celebrated French firm, the Société des Forges et Chantiers de
la Mediterranée, the former at their shipyard in La Seyne and the latter at their engine works in Marseilles.
The ship was five years in construction on the stocks, was launched in May, 1887, and not having been put in
commission until the present year, was thus nearly nine years in construction. She is a barbette belted ship of
somewhat similar design to the French ironclads Magenta, now being completed at the Toulon arsenal, and
the Neptune, in construction at Brest.
The hull is constructed partly of steel and partly of iron, and has the principal dimensions as follows. Length,
330 ft. at the water line; beam, 66 ft. outside the armor; draught, 27 ft. 6 in. aft.; displacement, 10,430 English
or 10,600 French tons. The engines are two in number, one driving each propeller; they are of the vertical
compound type, and on the speed trials developed 11,300 indicated horse power under forced and 5,500
indicated horse power under natural draught, the former giving a speed of 16.2 knots per hour with 90
revolutions per minute. The boilers are eight in number, of the cylindrical marine type, and work at a pressure
of 85.3 lb. per square inch. During the trials the steering powers of the ship were found to be excellent, but the
bow wave is said, by one critic, to have been very great.
The ship is completely belted with Creusot steel armor, which varies in thickness from 9 in. forward to 17¾
in. midships. In addition to this belt the ship is protected by an armored deck of 3½ in., while the barbette gun
towers are protected with 15¾ in. steel armor with a hood of 2½ in. to protect the men against machine gun
fire. As a further means of insuring the life of the ship in combat and also against accidents at sea, the
Marceau is divided into 102 water-tight compartments and is fitted with torpedo defense netting. There are
THE MARCEAU. 31
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two masts, each carrying double military tops; and a conning tower is mounted on each mast, from either of
which the ship may be worked in time of action, and both of which are in telegraphic communication with the
engine rooms and magazines. Provision is made for carrying 600 tons of coal, which, at a speed of 10 knots,
should be sufficient to supply the boilers for a voyage of 4,000 miles.
The armament of the Marceau is good for the tonnage of the ship and consists principally of four guns of 34
centimeters (13.39 in.) of the French 1884 model, having a weight of 52 tons, a length of 28½ calibers, and
being able to pierce 30 in. of iron armor at the muzzle. The projectiles weigh 924 lb., and are fired with a
charge of 387 lb. of powder. The muzzle velocity has been calculated to be 1,968 ft. per second. The guns are
entirely of steel and are mounted on Canet carriages in four barbette towers, one forward, one aft, and one on
each side amidships. On the firing trials both the guns and all the Canet machinery, for working the guns and
hoisting the ammunition, gave very great satisfaction to all present at the time. In addition to the above four
heavy guns there are, in the broadside battery, sixteen guns of 14 centimeters (5.51 in.), eight on each side,
and a gun of equal caliber is mounted right forward on the same deck. The armament is completed by a large
number of Hotchkiss quick-firing and revolver guns and four torpedo tubes, one forward, one aft, and one on
each side.
The crew of the Marceau has been fixed at 600 men, and the cost is stated to have been about
$3,750,000.--Engineering.
the metal measured where cut 0.32 and 0.375 inch in thickness, showing that the wasting during that time had
been very slight. The interior surface of the tube exhibited no signs of pitting or corrosion. It was covered by a
thin crust of black oxide, the maximum thickness of which did not exceed 1/32 inch. Where the deposit was
thickest it was curiously striated by the action of the steam. On the scale being removed, the original bloom on
the surface of the metal was exposed. It would thus appear that the danger from corrosion of iron steam pipes
is not borne out in their actual use; and hence so much of the way is cleared for a stronger and more reliable
material than copper. So far the source of danger seems to be in the weld, which would be inadmissible in
larger pipes; but there is no reason why these should not be lapped and riveted. There seems, however, a more
promising way out of the difficulty in the Mannesmann steel tubes which are now being "spun" out of solid
bars, so as to form weldless tubes.
Composition of gun Temperature of Tensile strength per Elastic limit per Elongation in length
metal. oil bath square inch. square inch. of 2 inches
Per cent. Fahr. Tons Tons Per cent.
Copper 87 50° 12.34 8.38 14.64
Tin 8 400° 10.83 6.30 11.79
Zinc 3½
Lead 1½
Copper 87 50° 13.86 8.33 20.30
Tin 8 458° 10.70 7.43 12.42
Zinc 5
Cast steel has been freely used by the writer for bends, junction pieces, etc., of steam pipes, as well as for
steam valve chests; and except for the fact that steel makers' promises of delivery are generally better than
their performance, the result has thus far been satisfactory in all respects. These were adopted because there
existed some doubt as to the strength of gun metal under a high temperature; and as the data respecting its
strength appeared of a doubtful character, a series of careful tests were made to determine the tensile strength
of gun metal when at atmospheric and higher temperatures. The test bars were all 0.75 in diameter, or 0.4417
square inch sectional area; and those tested at the higher temperatures were broken while immersed in a bath
of oil at the temperature here stated, each line being the mean of four experiments. The result of these
experiments was to give somewhat greater faith in gun metal as a material to be used under a higher
temperature; but as steel is much stronger, it is probably the most advisable material to use, when the time
necessary to procure it can be allowed.
Feed Heating.--With the double object of obviating strain on the boiler through the introduction of the feed
water at a low temperature, and also of securing a greater economy of fuel, the principle of previously heating
the feed water by auxiliary means has received considerable attention, and the ingenious method introduced
by Mr. James Weir has been widely adopted. It is founded on the fact that, if the feed water as it is drawn
from the hot well be raised in temperature by the heat of a portion of steam introduced into it from one of the
steam receivers, the decrease of the coal necessary to generate steam from the water of the higher temperature
bears a greater ratio to the coal required without feed heating than the power which would be developed in the
cylinder by that portion of steam would bear to the whole power developed when passing all the steam
through all the cylinders. The temperature of the feed is of course limited by the temperature of the steam in
the receiver from which the supply for heating is drawn. Supposing, for example, a triple expansion engine
were working under the following conditions without feed heating: Boiler pressure, 150 lb.;--indicated horse
power in high pressure cylinder 398, in intermediate and low pressure cylinders together 790, total, 1,188; and
temperature of hot well 100° Fahr. Then with feed heating the same engine might work as follows: The feed
might be heated to 220° Fahr., and the percentage of steam from the first receiver required to heat it would be
Auxiliary Supply of Fresh Water.--Intimately associated with the feed is the means adopted for making up the
losses of fresh water due to leakage of steam from safety valves, glands, joints, etc., and of water discharged
from the air pumps. A few years ago this loss was regularly made up from the sea, with the result that the
water in the boilers was gradually increased in density; whence followed deposit on the internal surfaces, and
consequent loss of efficiency, and danger of accident through overheating the plates. With the higher
pressures now adopted, the danger arising from overheating is much more serious, and the necessity is
absolute of maintaining the heating surfaces free from deposit. This can be done only by filling the boiler with
fresh water in the first instance, and maintaining it in that condition. To do this two methods are adopted,
either separately or in conjunction. Either a reserve supply of fresh water is carried in tanks or the
supplementary feed is distilled from sea water by special apparatus provided for the purpose. In the
construction of the distilling or evaporating apparatus advantage has been taken of two important physical
facts, namely, that, if water be heated to a temperature higher than that corresponding with the pressure on its
surface, evaporation will take place; and that the passage of heat from steam at one side of a plate to water at
the other is very rapid. In practice the distillation is effected by passing steam, say from the first receiver,
through a nest of tubes inside a still or evaporator, of which the steam space is connected either with the
second receiver or with the condenser. The temperature of the steam inside the tubes being higher than that of
the steam either in the second receiver or in the condenser, the result is that the water inside the still is
evaporated, and passes with the rest of the steam into the condenser, where it is condensed, and serves to
make up the loss. This plan localizes the trouble of deposit, and frees it from its dangerous character, because
an evaporator cannot become overheated like a boiler, even though it be neglected until it salts up solid; and if
the same precautions are taken in working the evaporator which used to be adopted with low pressure boilers
when they were fed with salt water, no serious trouble should result. When the tubes do become incrusted
with deposit, they can be either withdrawn or exposed, as the apparatus is generally so arranged; and they can
then be cleaned.
Screw Propeller.--In Mr. Marshall's paper of 1881 it was said that "the screw propeller is still to a great extent
an unsolved problem." This was at the time a fairly true remark. It was true the problem had been made the
subject of general theoretical investigation by various eminent mathematicians, notably by Professor Rankine
and Mr. William Froude, and of special experimental investigation by various engineers. As examples of the
latter may be mentioned the extended series of investigations in the French vessel Pelican, and the series made
by Mr. Isherwood on a steam launch about 1874. These experiments, however, such as they were, did little to
bring out general facts and to reduce the subject to a practical analysis. Since the date of Mr. Marshall's paper,
the literature on this subject has grown rapidly, and, has been almost entirely of a practical character. The
screw has been made the subject of most careful experiments. One of the earliest extensive series of
experiments was made under the writer's direction in 1881, with a large number of models, the primary object
being to determine what value there was in a few of the various twists which inventive ingenuity can give to a
screw blade. The results led the experimenters to the conclusion that in free water such twists and curves are
valueless as serving to augment efficiency. The experiments were then carried further with a view to
determine quantitative moduli for the resistance of screws with different ratios of pitch to diameter, or "pitch
In 1886, Mr. R.E. Froude published in the Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects the deductions
drawn from an extensive series of trials made with four models of similar form and equal diameter, but having
different pitch ratios. Mr. S.W. Barnaby has published some of the results of experiments made under the
direction of Mr. J.I. Thornycroft; and in his paper read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1890 he has
also put Mr. R.E. Froude's results into a shape more suitable for comparison with practice. Nor ought Mr.
G.A. Calvert's carefully planned experiments to pass unnoticed, of which an account was given in the
Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects in 1887. These experiments were made on rectangular
bodies with sections of propeller blade form, moved through the water at various velocities in straight lines, in
directions oblique to their plane faces; and from their results an estimate was formed of the resistance of a
screw.
One of the most important results deduced from experiments on model screws is that they appear to have
practically equal efficiencies throughout a wide range both in pitch ratio and in surface ratio; so that great
latitude is left to the designer in regard to the form of the propeller. Another important feature is that, although
these experiments are not a direct guide to the selection of the most efficient propeller for a particular ship,
they supply the means of analyzing the performances of screws fitted to vessels, and of thus indirectly
determining what are likely to be the best dimensions of screw for a vessel of a class whose results are known.
Thus a great advance has been made on the old method of trial upon the ship itself, which was the origin of
almost every conceivable erroneous view respecting the screw propeller. The fact was lost sight of that any
modification in form, dimensions, or proportions referred only to that particular combination of ship and
propeller, or to one similar thereto; so something like chaos was the result. This, however, need not be the
case much longer.
In regard to the materials used for propellers, steel has been largely adopted for both solid and loose-bladed
screws; but unless protected in some way, the tips of the blades are apt to corrode rapidly and become
unserviceable. One of the stronger kinds of bronze is often judiciously employed for the blades, in conjunction
with a steel boss. Where the first extra expense can be afforded, bronze seems the preferable material; the
castings are of a reliable character, and the metal does not rapidly corrode; the bronze blades can therefore
with safety be made lighter than steel blades, which favors their springing and accommodating themselves
more readily to the various speeds of the different parts of the wake. This might be expected to result in some
slight increase of efficiency; of which, however, the writer has never had the opportunity of satisfactorily
determining the exact extent. Instances can be brought forward where bronze blades have been substituted for
steel or iron with markedly improved results; but in cases of this kind which the writer has had the opportunity
of analyzing, the whole improvement might be accounted for by the modified proportions of the screw when
in working condition. In other words, both experiment and practical working alike go to show that, although
cast iron and steel blades as usually proportioned are sufficiently stiff to retain their form while at work,
bronze blades, being made much lighter, are not; and the result is that the measured or set pitch is less than
that which the blades assume while at work. Some facts relative to this subject have already been given in a
recent paper by the author.
Twin Screws.--The great question of twin screw propulsion has been put to the test upon a large scale in the
mercantile marine, or rather in what would usually be termed the passenger service. While engineers,
however, are prepared to admit its advantages so far as greater security from total breakdown is concerned,
there is by no means thorough agreement as to whether single or twin screws have the greater propulsive
efficiency. What is required to form a sound judgment upon the whole question is a series of examples of twin
and single screw vessels, each of which is known to be fitted with the most suitable propeller for the type of
vessel and speed; and until this information is available, little can be said upon the subject with any certainty.
Vessels. Length between Beam. Cylinders two sets in Boiler pressure per Indicated
perpen- diculars. all cases. square inch. horsepower.
Feet. Feet. Diameters. Stroke. Lb.
Inches. Inches.
City of Paris. 525 63¼ 45, 71, 113 60 150 20,000
City of New
York.
Teutonic. 565 58 43, 68, 110 60 180 18,000
Majestic.
Normannia. 500 57½ 40, 67, 106 66 160 11,500
Columbia. 463½ 55½ 41, 66, 101 66 160 12,500
Empress of 440 51 32, 51, 82 54 160 10,125
India.
Empress of
Japan.
Empress of
China.
Orel. 415 48 34, 54, 85 51 160 10,000
Weight of Machinery Relatively to Power.--It is interesting to compare the weight of machinery relatively to
the power developed; for this comparison has sometimes been adopted as the standard of excellence in design,
in respect of economy in the use of material. The principle, however, on which this has generally been done is
open to some objections. It has been usual to compare the weight directly with the indicated horse-power, and
to express the comparison in pounds per horse-power. So long as the machinery thus compared is for vessels
of the same class and working at about the same speed of revolution, no great fault can be found; but as speed
of revolution is a great factor in the development of power, and as it is often dependent on circumstances
altogether external to the engine and concerning rather the speed of the ship, the engines fitted to high speed
ships will thus generally appear to greater advantage than is their due. Leaving the condenser out of the
question, the weight of an engine would be much better referred to cylinder capacity and working pressures,
where these are materially different, than directly to the indicated power. The advantages of saving weight of
machinery, so long as it can be done with efficiency, are well known and acknowledged. If weight is to be
reduced, it must be done by care in design, not by reduction of strength, because safety and saving of repairs
are much more important than the mere capability of carrying a few tons more of paying load. It must also be
Economy of Fuel.--Coming to the highly important question of economy of fuel, the average consumption of
coal per indicated horse-power is 1.522 lb. per hour. The average working pressure is 158.5 lb. per square
inch. Comparing this working pressure with 77.4 lb. in 1881, a superior economy of 19 per cent. might be
expected now, on account of the higher pressure, or taking the 1.828 lb. of coal per hour per indicated
horse-power in 1881, the present performance under similar conditions should be 1.48 lb. per hour per
indicated horse-power. It appears that the working pressures have been increased twice in the last ten years,
and nearly three times in the last nineteen. The coal consumptions have been reduced 16.7 per cent. in the last
ten years and 27.9 per cent. in the last nineteen. The revolutions per minute have increased in the ratios of
100, 105, 114; and the piston speeds as 100, 124, 140. Although it is quite possible that the further
investigations of the Research Committee on Marine Engine Trials may show that the present actual
consumption of coal per indicated horse-power is understated, yet it is hardly probable that the relative results
will be affected thereby.
Dimensions.--In the matter of the power put into individual vessels, considerable strides have been made. In
1881, probably the greatest power which has been put into one vessel was in the case of the Arizona, whose
machinery indicated about 6,360 horse-power. The following table gives an idea of the dimensions and power
of the larger machinery in the later passenger vessels:
General Conclusions.--The progress made during the last ten years having been sketched out, however
roughly, the general conclusions may be stated briefly as follows: First, the working pressure has been about
doubled. Second, the increase of working pressure and other improvements have brought with them their
equivalent in economy of coal, which is about 20 per cent. Third, marked progress has been made in the
direction of dimension, more than twice the power having been put into individual vessels. Fourth, substantial
advance has been made in the scientific principles of engineering. It only remains for the writer to thank the
various friends who have so kindly furnished him with data for some of the tables which have been given; and
to express the hope that the next ten years may be marked by such progress as has been witnessed in the past.
But it must be remembered that, if future progress be equal in merit or ratio, it may well be less in quantity,
because advance becomes more difficult of achievement as perfection is more nearly approached.
[1]
Paper read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, July 28, 1891.
[2]
Transactions Northeast Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, vol. 7, 1890-91, p. 179.
[3]
Transactions Northeast Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, vol. 6, 1889-90, p. 253.
By M.M.
One of the highest medical authorities is credited with the statement that "nine-tenths of the diseases that
afflict humanity are caused by neglect to answer the calls of Nature."
This state of affairs is generally admitted, but is usually attributed to individual indolence. That, doubtless, has
a great deal to do with it, but should not part of the blame be laid upon the often unpleasant environments,
which make us shrink as from the performance of a painful duty?
In social life, unless from absolute necessity or charity, people of refined habits do not call on those whose
surroundings shock their sense of decency; but when they go to pay the calls of Nature, they are often
compelled to visit her in the meanest and most offensive of abodes; built for her by men's hands; for Nature
herself makes no such mistakes in conducting her operations. She does not always surround herself with the
pomp and pride of life, but she invariably hedges herself in with the thousand decencies and the pomp of
privacy.
But what do we often do? We build what is sometimes aptly termed "an out-house," because it is placed so
that the delicate minded among its frequenters may be made keenly alive to the fact that they can be plainly
seen by every passer-by and by every idle neighbor on the lookout. This tiny building is seldom weatherproof;
In consequence, keen cold winds from above, below, and all around find ready entrance, chill the uncovered
person, frequently check the motions, and make the strong as well as the weak, the young as well as the old,
very sorry indeed that they are so often uselessly obliged to answer the calls of Nature. It is true, the floor is
sometimes carpeted with snow, but the feet feel that to be but cold comfort, though the door may enjoy
How often, too, are the nose and the eye offended by disregard of the Mosaic injunction, found in the twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth verses of the twenty-third chapter of Deuteronomy! Of course this injunction was
addressed to a people who had been debased by slavery, but who were being trained to fit them for their high
calling as the chosen of God; but is not some such sanitary regulation needed in these times, when a natural
office is often made so offensive to us by its environments that it is difficult for us to believe that "God made
man a little lower than the angels," or that the human body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?
Dwellers in the aristocratic regions of a well drained city, whose wealth enables them to surround themselves
with all devices tending to a refined seclusion, may doubt all this, but sanitary inspectors who have made a
round of domiciliary visits in the suburbs, or the older, neglected parts of a large city, of to any part of a
country town or village, will readily affirm as to its general truth.
This unpardonable neglect of one of the minor decencies by the mass of the people seems to be caused partly
by a feeling of false shame, and partly by an idea that it is expensive and troublesome to make any change that
will improve their sanitary condition or dignify their daily lives.
The Rev. Henry Moule, of Fordington Vicarage, Dorsetshire, England, was one of the first to turn his
attention to this matter. With the threefold object of improving the sanitary condition of his people, refining
their habits, and enriching their gardens, he invented what he called the "dry earth closet."
"It is based on the power of clay and the decomposed organic matter found in the soil to absorb and retain all
offensive odors and all fertilizing matters; and it consists, essentially, of a mechanical contrivance (attached to
the ordinary seat) for measuring out and discharging into the vault or pan below a sufficient quantity of sifted
dry earth to entirely cover the solid ordure and to absorb the urine.
"The discharge of earth is effected by an ordinary pull-up, similar to that used in the water closet, or (in the
self-acting apparatus) by the rising of the seat when the weight of the person is removed.
"The vault or pan under the seat is so arranged that the accumulation can be removed at pleasure.
"From the moment when the earth is discharged and the evacuation covered, all offensive exhalation entirely
ceases. Under certain circumstances there may be, at times, a slight odor as of guano mixed with earth, but
this is so trifling and so local that a commode arranged on this plan may, without the least annoyance, be kept
in use in any room."
The "dry earth closet" of the philanthropic clergyman was found to work well, and was acceptable to his
parishioners. One reason why it was so was because dry earth was ready to hand, or could be easily procured
in a country district where labor was cheap. But where labor was dear and dry earth scarce, those who had to
pay for the carting of the earth and the removal of the deodorized increment found it both expensive and
troublesome.
But a modification of this dry earth closet, the joint contrivance of an English church clergyman and his
brother, "the doctor," residents of a Canadian country town, who had heard of Moule's invention, is a good
substitute, and is within the reach of all. This will be briefly described.
The vault was dug as for an ordinary closet, about fifteen feet deep, and a rough wooden shell fitted in. About
four feet below the surface of this wooden shell a stout wide ledge was firmly fastened all around. Upon this
ledge a substantially made wooden box was placed, just as we place a well fitting tray into our trunks. About
three feet of the back of the wooden shell was then taken out, leaving the back of the box exposed. From the
By M.M. 39
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center of the back of the box a square was cut out and a trap door fitted in and hasped down.
The tiny building, on which pains, paint, and inventive genius had not been spared to make it snug,
comfortable, well lighted and well ventilated, was placed securely on this vault.
After stones had been embedded in the earth at the back of the vault, to keep it from falling upon the trap
door, two or three heavy planks were laid across the hollow close to the closet. These were first covered with
a barrowful of earth and then with a heap of brushwood.
Within the closet, in the left hand corner, a tall wooden box was placed, about two-thirds full of dry, well
sifted wood ashes. The box also contained a small long-handled fire shovel. When about six inches of the
ashes had been strewn into the vault the closet was ready for use. No; not quite; for squares of suitable paper
had to be cut, looped together with twine, and hung within convenient reaching distance of the right hand; also
a little to the left of this pad of paper, and above the range of sight when seated, a ten pound paper bag of the
toughest texture had to be hung by a loop on a nail driven into the corner.
At first the rector thought that his guests would be "quick-witted enough to understand the arrangement," but
when he found that the majority of them were, as the Scotch say, "dull in the uptak," he had to think of some
plan to enforce his rules and regulations. As by-word-of-mouth instructions would have been rather
embarrassing to both sides, he tacked up explicit written orders, which must have provoked many a smile.
Above the bin of sifted ashes he nailed a card which instructed "Those who use this closet must strew two
shovelfuls of ashes into the vault." Above the pad of clean paper he tacked the thrifty proverb: "Waste not,
want not;" and above the paper bag he suspended a card bearing this warning: "All refuse paper must be put
into this bag; not a scrap of clean or unclean paper must be thrown into the vault."
This had the desired effect. Some complacently united to humor their host's whim, as they called it, and
others, immediately recognizing its utility and decency, took notes with a view to modifying their own closet
arrangements.
Sarah, the maid of all work, caused a good deal of amusement in the family circle by writing her instructions
in blue pencil on the front of the ash bin. These were: "Strew two shuffefuls of ashes into the volt, but don't
spill two shuffefuls onto the floor. By order of the Gurl who has to sweap up." This order was emphatically
approved of by those fastidious ones who didn't have to "sweep up."
This closet opened off the woodshed, and besides being snugly weatherproof in itself, was sheltered on one
side by the shed and on another by a high board fence. The other two sides were screened from observation by
lattice work, outside of which evergreens were planted to give added seclusion and shade. A ventilator in the
roof and two sunny little windows, screened at will from within by tiny Venetian shutters, gave ample light
and currents of fresh air. For winter use, the rector's wife and daughters made "hooked" mats for floor and for
foot support. These were hung up every night in the shed to air and put back first thing in the morning. For the
greater protection and comfort of invalids, an old-fashioned foot warmer, with a handle like a basket, was
always at hand ready to be filled with live coals and carried out.
The little place was always kept as exquisitely clean as the dainty, old-fashioned drawing room, and so
vigilant was the overseeing care bestowed on every detail, that the most delicate and acute sense of smell
could not detect the slightest abiding unpleasant odor. The paper bag was frequently changed, and every night
the accumulated contents were burned; out of doors in the summer, and in the kitchen stove--after a strong
draught had been secured--in the winter.
At stated times the deodorized mass of solid increment--in which there was not or ought not to have been any
refuse paper to add useless bulk--was spaded, through the trap door, out of the box in the upper part of the
By M.M. 40
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vault, into a wheelbarrow, thrown upon the garden soil, and thoroughly incorporated with it. In this cleansing
out process there was little to offend, so well had the ashes done their concealing deodorizing work.
In using this modified form of Moule's invention, it is not necessary to dig a deep vault. The rector, given to
forecasting, thought that some day his property might be bought by those who preferred the old style, but his
brother, the doctor, not troubling about what might be, simply fitted his well made, four feet deep box, with its
trap door, into a smoothly dug hole that exactly held it, and set the closet over it. In all other respects it was a
model of his brother's.
This last is within the reach of all, even those who live in other people's houses; for, when they find
themselves in possession of an unspeakably foul closet, they can cover up the old vault and set the well
cleaned, repaired, fumigated closet upon a vault fashioned after the doctor's plan. A stout drygoods box,
which can be bought for a trifle, answers well for this purpose, after a little "tinkering" to form a trap door.
Of course, dry earth is by far the best deodorizer and absorbent, but when it cannot be easily and cheaply
procured, well sifted wood or coal ashes--wood preferred--is a good substitute. The ashes must be kept dry. If
they are not, they lose their absorbing, deodorizing powers. They must also be well sifted. If they are not, the
cinders add a useless and very heavy bulk to the increment.
An ash sifter can be made by knocking the bottom out of a shallow box, studding the edge all round with
tacks, and using them to cross and recross with odd lengths of stovepipe wire to form a sieve.--The Sanitarian.
Alimentary fat becomes fixed in the tissues, as has been proved by Lebede, who fed dogs, emaciated by long
fast, with meat wholly deprived of fat, and substituted for the latter linseed oil, when he was able to recover
the oil in each instance from the animal; parallel experiments with mutton fat, in lieu of oil, afforded like
results.
Hoffman also deprived dogs of fat for a month, causing them to lose as high as twenty-two pounds weight,
then began nourishing with bacon fat with but little lean; the quantity of fat formed in five days, in the dog
that lost twenty-two pounds, was more than three pounds, which could have been derived only from the bacon
fat.
It has been stated, however, that alimentary fat seems to preserve from destruction the fat of the organism
which arises from other sources. Be this as it may, it is a fact that the pre-existence of fat furthers the
accumulation of more adipose; or in other words, fat induces fattening!
That adipose may be formed through the transformation of albuminous matters (meat) is an extremely
important corollary, one established beyond cavil by Pettinkofer and Voit, in an indirect way, by first
estimating the nitrogen and carbon ingested, and second the amount eliminated. Giving a dog meat that was
wholly deprived of fat, they found it impossible to recover more than a portion of the contained carbon; hence
Other facts also plead in favor of the transformation of a portion of albumen into fat within the economy,
notably the changing of a portion of dead organism into what is known as "cadaveric fat," and the very rapid
fatty degeneration of organs that supervenes upon certain forms of poisoning, as by phosphorus.
The carbohydrates, or more properly speaking hydrocarbons, are regarded by all physiologists as specially
capable of producing fat, and numerous alimentary experiments have been undertaken to prove this point.
Chaniewski, Meissl, and Munk obtained results that evidenced, apparently, sugar and starch provide more fat
than do the albuminoids. Voit, however, disapproves this, maintaining the greater part of the hydrocarbons is
burned (furnishes fuel for the immediate evolution of force), and that fat cannot be stored up unless a due
proportion of albuminoids is also administered. He believes the hydrocarbons exert a direct influence only;
being more oxidizable than fats, they guard the latter from oxidation. This protective role of the hydrocarbons
applies also to the albuminoids.
We may believe, then, that the three great classes of aliment yield fat, in some degree; that alimentary fat may
be fixed in the tissues; and that hydrocarbons favor the deposition of adipose either directly or indirectly.
It is well understood that fat may disappear with great rapidity under certain conditions; many maladies are
accompanied by speedy emaciation; therefore, as fat never passes into the secretions, at least not in
appreciable quantities, it probably undergoes transformation, perhaps by oxidation or a form of fermentation,
the final results of which are, directly or indirectly, water and cadaveric acid. It is certain the process of
oxidation favors the destruction of adipose, and that everything which inhibits such destruction tends to fat
accumulation.
Since the earliest period of history, there seems to have been an anxiety to secure some regimen of general
application that would reduce or combat obesity. Thus Hippocrates says:
Fat people, and all those who would become lean, should perform laborious tasks while fasting, and eat while
still breathless from fatigue, without rest, and after having drunk diluted wine not very cold. Their meats
should be prepared with sesamum, with sweets, and other similar substances, and these dishes should be free
from fat.
But, besides, one should take only one meal; take no bath; sleep on a hard bed; and walk as much as may be.
How much has medical science gained in this direction during the interval of more than two thousand years?
Let us see:
First among moderns to seek to establish on a scientific basis a regimen for the obese, was Dancel, who
forbade fats, starchy foods, etc., prescribed soups and aqueous aliment, and reduced the quantity of beverage
to the lowest possible limit; at the same time he employed frequent and profuse purgation.
This regimen, which permits, at most, but seven to twelve ounces of fluid at each repast, is somewhat difficult
to follow, though it may be obtained, gradually, with ease. Dr. Constantine Paul records a case in which this
regimen, gradually induced, and followed for ten years, rewarded the patient with "moderate flesh and most
excellent health."
In Great Britain, a mode of treatment instituted in one Banting, by Dr. Harvey, whereby the former was
decreased in weight forty pounds, has obtained somewhat wide celebrity; and what is more remarkable, it is
known as "Bantingism," taking its name from the patient instead of the physician who originated it. The
dietary is as follows:
Breakfast.--Five to six ounces of lean meat, broiled fish, or smoked bacon--veal and pork interdicted; a cup of
tea or coffee without milk or sugar; one ounce of toast or dry biscuit (crackers).
Dinner.--Five or six ounces of lean meat or fish--excluding eel, salmon, and herring; a small quantity of
vegetables, but no potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets, peas, or beans; one ounce of toast, fruit, or fowl; two
glasses of red wine--beer, champagne, and port forbidden.
Tea.--Two or three ounces of fruit; one kind of pastry; one cup of tea.
Supper.--Three or four ounces of lean beef or fish; one or two glasses of red wine.
At bed-time.--Grog without sugar (whisky and water, or rum and water), and one or two glasses of sherry or
Bordeaux.
"Bantingism," to be effective, must be most closely followed, when, unfortunately also, it proves extremely
debilitating; it is suitable only for sturdy, hard riding gluttons of the Squire Western type. The patient rapidly
loses strength as well as flesh, and speedily acquires an unconquerable repugnance to the dietary. Further,
from a strictly physiological point of view, the quantity of meat is greatly in excess, while with the cessation
of the regimen, the fat quickly reappears.
Next Ebstein formulated a dietary that is certainly much better tolerated than that of Harvey and Banting, and
yields as good, or even better, results. He allows patients to take a definite quantity--two to two and a half
ounces-of fat daily, in the form of bacon or butter which, theoretically at least, offers several advantages: It
diminishes the sensations of hunger and thirst, and plays a special role with respect to the albuminoids; the
latter may thus be assimilated by the economy without being resolved into fat, and thus the adipose of the
organism at this period is drawn upon without subsequent renewal. The following is the outline:
Breakfast.--At 6 a.m. in summer; 7:30 in winter:--Eight ounces of black tea without either milk or sugar; two
ounces of white bread or toast, with a copious layer of butter.
Dinner.--2 p.m.:--A modicum of beef marrow soup; four ounces of meat, preferably of fatty character;
moderate quantity of vegetable, especially the legumines, but no potatoes or anything containing starch; raw
fruits in season, and cooked fruits (stewed, without sugar); two or three glasses of light wine as a beverage,
and after eating, a cup of black tea without sugar.
Supper.--7:30 p m.:--An egg, bit of fat roast, ham, or bacon; a slice of white bread well buttered; a large cup
of black tea without milk or sugar; from time to time, cheese and fresh fruits.
Germain See suggests as a modification of this regimen, the abundant use of beverage, the addition of
gelatins, and at times small doses of potassium iodide in twenty cases he claims constant and relatively
prompt results.
Whatever may be urged for Ebstein's system--and it has afforded most excellent results to Unna and to Lube,
as well as its author--it certainly exposes the patient to the terrors of dyspepsia, when the routine must needs
be interrupted or modified; hence it is not always to be depended upon. As between dyspepsia and obesity,
there are few, I fancy, who would not prefer the latter.
Another "system" that has acquired no little celebrity, and which has for its aim the reduction as far as
possible of alimentary hydrocarbons while permitting a certain proportion of fat, is that, of Denneth, which
necessarily follows somewhat closely the lines laid down by Ebstein.
Oertels' treatment, somewhat widely known, and not without due measure of fame, is based upon a series of
measures having as object the withdrawal from both circulation and the economy at large, as much of the
fluids as possible. It is especially adapted for the relief of those obese who are suffering fatty degeneration of
the heart. The menu is as follows:
Breakfast.--Pour to five ounces of tea or coffee with a little milk; two to two and a half ounces bread.
Dinner.--Three or four ounces of roast or boiled meat, or moderately fat food; fish, slightly fat; salad and
vegetables at pleasure; one and a half ounces of bread (in certain cases as much as three ounces of farinaceous
food may be permitted); three to six ounces of fruit; at times a little pastry for dessert.--In summer, if fruit is
not obtainable, six to eight ounces of light wine may be allowed.
Tea,--A cupful (four to five ounces) of tea or coffee, with a trifle of milk, as at breakfast; one and
three-fourths ounces of bread; and exceptionally (and at most) six ounces of water.
Supper.--One to two soft boiled eggs; four or five ounces of meat; one and three fourths ounces of bread; a
trifle of cheese, salad, or fruit; six to eight ounces of light wine diluted with an eighth volume of water. The
quantity of beverage may be slightly augmented at each meal if necessary, especially if there is no morbid
heart trouble.
Schwenninger (Bismarck's physician), who opened a large sanitarium near Berlin a few years since for the
treatment of the obese, employs Oertel's treatment, modified in that an abundance of beverage is permitted,
provided it is not indulged in at meals; it is forbidden until two hours after eating.
Both Oertel's and Schwenninger's methods have procured grave dyspepsias, and fatal albuminurias as well,
according to Meyer and Rosenfield. It has been charged the allowance of beverage upon which Schwenninger
lays so much stress in the treatment at his sanitarium has a pecuniary basis, in other words a commission upon
the sale of wines.2
Thus, it will be observed that while some forbid beverage, others rather insist upon its employment in greater
or less quantities. Under such circumstances, it would seem but rational, before undertaking to relieve obesity,
to establish its exact nature, and also the role taken by fluids in the phenomena of nutrition.
Physiologists generally admit water facilitates nutritive exchanges, which is explained by the elimination of a
large quantity of urine; the experiments of Genth and Robin in this direction appear conclusive.
Bischoff, Voit, and Hermann have shown that water increases, not alone the elimination of urine, but also of
sodium chloride, phosphoric acid, etc. Grigoriantz observed augmentation of disintegration when the quantity
of beverage exceeded forty-six to eighty ounces ("1,400 to 2,400 cubic centimeters") per diem. Oppenheim,
Fraenkel, and Debove, while believing water has but little influence upon the exchanges, admit it certainly
need not diminish the latter; and Debove and Flament, after administering water in quantities varying from
two to eight pints per diem, concluded that urine was diminished below the former figure, while above the
latter it increased somewhat, being dependent upon the amount ingested. It was on the strength of the
foregoing that Lallemand declared water to have no influence upon the exchanges.
The results claimed by Oppenheim, Debove, et al. were immediately challenged--and it is now generally
admitted, not without some justice--by Germain See. It seems certain, to say the least, that water taken during
1. A physiological regimen comprising four to five ounces of nitrogenous principles as derived from eight to
ten ounces animal muscle and albuminates; three to six ounces of fat; eight to ten ounces of hydrocarbons as
yielded by ten to twelve ounces of sugar or starch food.
These proportions to be modified in such manner that the musculo-albuminates shall not sensibly exceed the
normal ratio, for meat in excess itself furnishes fat during transformation. The fatty substances of easy
digestion may, without inconvenience, be utilized in doses of two to three ounces. The hydrocarbons should
be reduced to a minimum. As for the herbaceous elements, they contain nothing nutritive.
2. Beverage, far from being suppressed, should be augmented, in order to facilitate stomachal digestion and
promote general nutrition, though alcoholic liquids must be inhibited; likewise mineral waters, except,
perhaps, for occasional use. Both should be replaced by infusions of coffee or tea, taken as hot as can be
drank.
Henrich Kisch insists that any method which promises rapid and marked decrease of adipose must, per se, be
objectionable, even if not positively injurious, since it tends to provoke general troubles of nutrition. He
suggests that first the fats and hydrocarbons be reduced as little as possible; that a moderate mixed regimen is
required, containing a preponderance of albumen, small quantities of hydrocarbons and gelatinous matters,
with but very little fat. Certain fatty meats, however, should be generally interdicted, such as pork sausage,
smoked beef tongue, goose breast, smoked ham, fat salmon, and herring in any form. Eggs, however, may be
partaken of in moderation, giving preference to the albumen over the yelk. Farinaceous foods, in the main,
should be rejected, even bread being allowed only in small quantities, and then preferably in the form of toast.
Cheese likewise contains too much fat; and mushrooms are so rich in hydrocarbons that they should be
rejected. Condiments, water, vegetable acids (vinegars excepted) may be permitted; especially pernicious is
vinegar where there is any tendency to gout or gravel. All fatty beverages--bouillon, unskimmed milk,
chocolate, or cacao--and all alcoholics, are hurtful; breakfast tea is undoubtedly the best beverage, but, after a
little, is advantageously replaced by light white wine diluted with water.
Kisch believes in a free and abundant use of water by the obese, especially where there is a tendency to
plethora, since this fluid facilitates oxidation as the result of absorption; thus he advocates the inhibition of
large quantities of cold water by all, save those presenting evidence of cardiac insufficiency. In short, his
regimen is based upon the administration of a large quantity of albumen, like that of Harvey-Banting.
E. Munk recommends an almost identical dietary, save that he prefers great moderation in fluids employed as
beverage.
M. Robin has sought to harmonize the opposing views regarding fluids, and therefore declares obesity arises
from two distinct sources: 1. Augmentation of assimilation. 2. Reduced disassimilation. In the former, he
insists water must be interdicted, while in the latter it may be allowed ad libitum.
Again, in order to recognize the exact variety of obesity, he divides his patients into three classes, each
recognizable by the volume of urea excreted. In the first there is an increase above normal; in the second the
volume of urea is stationary; in the third decreased, increased, or stationary.
When the urea is stationary, which is most frequently the case, it is necessary to calculate the coefficient of
oxidation; that is, the relation existing between the solid matters of the urine and the urea. The elevation of the
coefficient is prima facie evidence the obesity is due to excess of assimilation, while depression of the
coefficient indicates default of assimilation. In the first case, water and liquids must be denied as far as
possible, the same as if there was no augmentation of urea; in the second, the same as if there was diminution
of urea, the patients may be permitted to imbibe fluids at pleasure.
For the obese from default of disassimilation, Robin recommends a regimen of green vegetables and bread
chiefly--the latter in small quantities, however, and fluids as may be desired. By this means, on one occasion,
he was able in the course of one month to diminish the weight of a female patient by twelve and a half
pounds, her measurement around the waist at the same time decreasing 5.2 inches and across the stomach 4.8
inches.
M. De St. Germain achieved good results by combining judicious exercise with moderate alimentation,
excluding wine and bread.
M. Dujardin Beaumetz, who professes to have given most close and careful study and attention to regimen for
the obese, outlines the following, provided there is no evidence of fatty degeneration of heart.
Breakfast (at 8 a. m.)--Three-fourths of an ounce of bread "en flute"--that is abounding with crust; one and a
half ounces of cold meat, ham or beef, six ounces weak black tea, sans sugar.
Lunch (at 1 p.m.)--An ounce and a half to two ounces of bread, or a ragout, or two eggs; three ounces green
vegetables; one-half ounce of cheese; fruits at discretion.
Dinner (at 7 p.m.)--An ounce and a half to two ounces of bread; three to four ounces of meat, or ragout; ditto
of green vegetables, salad, half an ounce of cheese, fruit ad libitum.
At meal times the patient may take only a "glass and a half" of liquid--approximately ten ounces--though a
greater amount may be permitted if he abstains during the intervals.
Special alimentary regimen, however, does not constitute the sole treatment of obesity. Concurrently must be
employed a number of practical adjuvants which are oftentimes of the utmost assistance. For one thing,
exercise is indispensable; all authorities agree on this point. The exercise taken in the gymnasium is one of the
best, notably the "wall exercise," which is more particularly suited to those afflicted with pendulous and
protuberant abdomens as the result of feebleness of the hypogastric muscles, to accumulation of fat under the
skin and in the omentum, and to dilation of the stomach and intestines. In the "wall exercise," the patient
stands erect against an absolutely straight and plumb wall, lifts his hands (carrying a weight) straight over the
head, and causes them to describe a semicircle forward. Zantz particularly insists upon arm and leg exercise
for the obese, especially the former, since with the same amount of effort a larger amount of oxygen is
consumed than is possible by the latter.
However, of whatever character, the exercise should be continued to the point of fatigue or
dyspn#oelig;a--three thousand movements daily, gradually increased to twenty-five thousand, if the system
can bear it; and under such conditions, not only is there consumption of hydrocarbons, but there is provided a
During exercise there is obviously more abundant absorption of oxygen, and consequently greater elimination
of carbonic acid, and as a consequence (as shown by researches of Voit), the reserve fat of the economy is
attacked and diminished; in intense labor there is an average hourly consumption of about 8.2 percent. of fat.
Further physical activity is useful in exercising the voluntary muscles, and thus opposing the invasion by
interstitial fat of the muscle fibrils. Extreme exercise also, to a certain degree, exerts a favorable influence on
the cardiac muscle, augmenting both its nutrition and its capacity for labor. With the anæmic obese, however,
it is necessary to be most circumspect in prescribing forced exercise; also with the elderly obese possessed of
enfeebled or fatty heart.
Hydrotherapy, especially in the form of cold douches, particularly when combined with massage, is often of
considerable value in relieving obesity; the method of Harmman, of St. Germain, which has in many instances
induced rapid loss of adipose, is of this class. Tepid saline baths and vapor baths have many advocates, and
may afford material aid when the heart and circulation do not inhibit their employment. Hot baths elevate the
temperature of the body and increase the organic exchanges, hence, as Bert and Reynard have pointed out,
tend to the elimination of oxygen and carbonic acid; but when employed, the patient should be introduced
while the temperature is below 130° F., when it may be gradually raised in the course of thirty or forty
minutes to 140° F.
It has already been intimated, the chief feature of the treatment of obesity is acceleration of the exchanges;
and this is in the main true, though it must also be borne in mind that, while there are obese who excrete little
urea and have a depressed central nervous temperature, many may be azoturic, and besides eliminate
phosphate in excess, when an oxidating treatment will not only fail, but prove positively injurious.
The bile throws out fat, therefore, to accelerate nutritive oxidations, the liver and nervous system must be
acted upon, i.e., stimulated. Everything that tends to diminish the activity of the former, or depress the latter,
must be avoided. Hence intellectual labor should be encouraged, or in lieu thereof, travel advised. Exercise
should be taken chiefly while fasting; the limits of sleep confined to strict necessity, and siestas after meals
and during the day strictly forbidden; the skin stimulated by hydro-therapeutic measures, including massage
under cold affusions, during warm salt baths, etc.
To increase the activity of the liver, salicylate of soda may often be advantageously administered for its
cholagogue effect; or resort may be had to saline purgatives such as are afforded by the springs of Marienbad,
Kissengen, Homburg, Carlsbad, Brides, Hunyadi, or Chatel-Guyon; and it is somewhat remarkable that while
undergoing a course of these waters, there is often no appreciable change in weight or obesity, though the
decrease becomes most marked almost immediately upon cessation of treatment.
Everything tending to increased or fuller respiration is to be encouraged, for the fats are thus supplied with
oxygen, hastening their disintegration and consumption.
Direct medicinal treatment presents no very wide scope. Bouchard imagines lime water may be useful by
accelerating nutrition, but this is problematical, since fat in emulsion or in droplets does not burn.
Nevertheless, alkalies in general, alkaline carbonates, liquor potassa, soaps, etc., aid in rendering fat more
soluble, and consequently more susceptible to attack. The alkaline waters, however, are much less active in
obesity than the saline mineral waters, unless, as sometimes happens, there is a complication of diabetes and
obesity.
According to Kisch, the cold mineral waters containing an abundance of sulphate of soda, like Hunyadi and
Marienbad, are to be preferred to the hot mineral waters, such as Carlsbad, because of their lesser irritant
action on the vascular system, and because they strongly excite diuresis through their low temperature and
contained carbonic acid; Carlsbad deserves preference only when obesity is combined with uric acid calculi,
or with diabetes. For very anæmic persons, however, the weak alkaline and saline waters should be selected;
or they should confine themselves to chalybeate waters containing an excess of sulphate of soda. Water
containing sulphate of soda is also indicated as a beverage where there are troubles of the circulatory
apparatus; it is contraindicated only in accentuated arterio-sclerosis.
As a matter of fact, I find the suggestion of M. Dujardin-Beaumetz, that the obese should be divided into two
groups, a most practical one, for some are strong and vigorous--great eaters, perhaps even gluttons--while
others, on the contrary, are feeble and debilitated, with flesh soft and flaccid; and upon the former may be
imposed all the rigors of the reducing system, while the latter must be dealt with more carefully.
In general, it must be noted, the regimen prescribed for the obese is insufficient, as the following table
prepared by M.C. Paul abundantly proves:
The quantity of aliment may be reduced either by imposing an always uniform regimen, which soon begets
anorexia and disgust, or by withholding from the food a considerable quantity of fat, or, finally, by forbidding
beverage during meals. Emaciation is obtained readily enough in either way, and demands only the constant
exercise of will power on the part of the patient; but unhappily, severe regimen cannot always be prescribed.
When the obese patient has passed the age of forty; when the heart suffers from degeneration; or when the
heart is anæmic--in all, rigorous treatment will serve to still further enfeeble the central organ of circulation,
and tend to precipitate accidents that, by all means, are to be avoided. In such cases, by not treating the
obesity, the days of the patient will be prolonged. In degeneration of the heart, however, the method of
Ebstein may be tried; and when there is renal calculi and gouty diathesis, that of Germain See may prove
satisfactory.
Paris, France.
[1]
STILT WALKING.
Sylvain Dornon, the stilt walker of Landes, started from Paris on the 12th of last March for Moscow, and
reached the end of his journey at the end of a fifty-eight days' walk. This long journey upon stilts constitutes a
genuine curiosity, not only to the Russians, to whom this sort of locomotion is unknown, but also to many
Frenchmen.
Walking on stilts, in fact, which was common twenty years ago in certain parts of France, is gradually tending
to become a thing of the past. In the wastes of Gascony it was formerly a means of locomotion adapted to the
nature of the country. The waste lands were then great level plains covered with stunted bushes and dry heath.
Moreover, on account of the permeability of the subsoil, all the declivities were transformed into marshes
after the slightest fall of rain.
There were no roads of any kind, and the population, relying upon sheep raising for a living, was much
scattered. It was evidently in order to be able to move around under these very peculiar conditions that the
shepherds devised and adopted stilts. The stilts of Landes are called, in the language of the country,
Paris, France. 49
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scientific American Supplement, 821
tchangues, which signifies "big legs," and those who use them are called tchanguès. The stilts are pieces of
wood about five feet in length, provided with a shoulder and strap to support the foot. The upper part of the
wood is flattened and rests against the leg, where it is held by a strong strap. The lower part, that which rests
upon the earth, is enlarged and is sometimes strengthened with a sheep's bone. The Landese shepherd is
provided with a staff which he uses for numerous purposes, such as a point of support for getting on to the
stilts and as a crook for directing his flocks. Again, being provided with a board, the staff constitutes a
comfortable seat adapted to the height of the stilts. Resting in this manner, the shepherd seems to be upon a
gigantic tripod. When he stops he knits or he spins with the distaff thrust in his girdle. His usual costume
consists of a sort of jacket without sleeves, made of sheep skin, of canvas gaiters, and of a drugget cloak. His
head gear consists of a beret or a large hat. This accouterment was formerly completed by a gun to defend the
flock against wolves, and a stove for preparing meals.
The aspect of the Landeses is doubtless most picturesque, but their poverty is extreme. They are generally
spare and sickly, they are poorly fed and are preyed upon by fever. Mounted on their stilts, the shepherds of
Landes drive their flocks across the wastes, going through bushes, brush and pools of water, and traversing
marshes with safety, without having to seek roads or beaten footpaths. Moreover, this elevation permits them
to easily watch their sheep, which are often scattered over a wide surface. In the morning the shepherd, in
order to get on his stilts, mounts by a ladder or seats himself upon the sill of a window, or else climbs upon
the mantel of a large chimney. Even in a flat country, being seated upon the ground, and having fixed his
stilts, he easily rises with the aid of his staff. To persons accustomed to walking on foot, it is evident that
locomotion upon stilts would be somewhat appalling.
One may judge by what results from the fall of a pedestrian what danger may result from a fall from a pair of
stilts. But the shepherds of Landes, accustomed from their childhood to this sort of exercise, acquire an
extraordinary freedom and skill therein. The tchanguè knows very well how to preserve his equilibrium; he
walks with great strides, stands upright, runs with agility, or executes a few feats of true acrobatism, such as
picking up a pebble from the ground, plucking a flower, simulating a fall and quickly rising, running on one
foot, etc.
The speed that the stilt walkers attain is easily explained. Although the angle of the legs at every step is less
than that of ordinary walking with the feet on the ground, the sides prolonged by the stilts are five or six feet
apart at the base. It will be seen that with steps of such a length, distances must be rapidly covered.
When, in 1808, the Empress Josephine went to Bayonne to rejoin Napoleon I, who resided there by reason of
the affairs of Spain, the municipality sent an escort of young Landese stilt walkers to meet her. On the return,
these followed the carriages with the greatest facility, although the horses went at a full trot.
During the stay of the empress, the shepherds, mounted upon their stilts, much amused the ladies of the court,
who took delight in making them race, or in throwing money upon the ground and seeing several of them go
for it at once, the result being a scramble and a skillful and cunning onset, often accompanied with falls.
Up to recent years scarcely any merry-makings occurred in the villages of Gascony that were not
accompanied with stilt races. The prizes usually consisted of a gun, a sheep, a cock, etc. The young people
vied with each other in speed and agility, and plucky young girls often took part in the contests.
Some of the municipalities of the environs of Bayonne and Biarritz still organize stilt races, at the period of
the influx of travelers; but the latter claim that the stiltsmen thus presented are not genuine Landese shepherds,
but simple supernumeraries recruited at hazard, and in most cases from among strolling acrobats. The stilt
walkers of Landes not only attain a great speed, but are capable of traveling long distances without
appreciable fatigue.
STILT WALKING. 50
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Formerly, on the market days at Bayonne and Bordeaux, long files of peasants were seen coming in on stilts,
and, although they were loaded with bags and baskets, they came from the villages situated at 10, 15, or 20
leagues distance. To-day the sight of a stilt walker is a curiosity almost as great at Bordeaux as at Paris. The
peasant of Landes now comes to the city in a wagon or even by railway.--La Nature.
Several interesting fragments of Roman work have been brought to light in the course of excavations that are
being made for building purposes at Twyford, near Winchester. About a month ago, a paved way, composed
entirely of small red tiles, six feet in width and extending probably a considerable distance (a length of 14 ft.
was uncovered), was found while digging on the site for flints. The more recent excavations are 20 ft. west of
this passage, and there is now to be seen, in a very perfect state of preservation, an oven or kiln with three
openings. Five yards away from this is a chamber about eight feet square, paved with tiles, and the sides
coated with a reddish plaster. On one side is a ledge 15 in. from the ground, extending the whole length of the
chamber; on the floor is a sunk channel with an opening at the end for the water to escape. This chamber
evidently represents the bath. Portions of the dividing walls of the different chambers have also been
discovered, together with various bones, teeth, horns and ornaments, but very few coins. It is probable that an
alteration in the plans of the house which was about to be built on the spot will be made so as to preserve all
the more interesting features of these remains in the basement. These discoveries were made at a depth of only
two or three feet from the surface of the ground, and are within about a quarter of a mile of other Roman
remains which were similarly brought to light a few months ago.
The experiments we have made in this direction were conducted as follows. The 300 c.c. bottle containing the
gum was placed in a capacious beaker full of hot water, and the viscosity instrument was also surrounded with
water at the same temperature. Thermometers were suspended both in the beaker and the outer jar. The
viscosity at the highest temperature obtained, about 90° C., was then taken and repeated for every fall of 4° C.
till the water reached the temperature of the air.
The values so obtained gradually diminished with the increase of temperature. From the η values obtained the Z
values were calculated, using water at 15° C. as a standard. From the Z values thus obtained taken as the
ordinate, and the temperature of each experiment as the abscissa, curves were plotted out embodying the
results, examples of which are given below. The curves yielded by three gums 2, 7, and 8 changed between
90° C and 100° C., while gum sample 4 has a curve bending between 60° C. and 70° C. Experimentally this
increase of viscosity of the latter gum above 60° C. was confirmed, but the critical point of the other solutions
tried approaches too nearly to the boiling point of water for experiments to be conducted with accuracy, as the
temperature of the bulbs diminishes sensibly while the experiment is being made.
If viscosity values have been determined it is possible to calculate the remaining or intermediate values for Z
at any particular temperature from the general equation--Zt = A + Bt + Ct²
can be obtained, and thus the value of Zt° for any required temperature. The numbers calculated for gums all
point to a diminution in viscosity up to a certain point, and then a gradual increase. A comparison of some of
the figures actually obtained in some of these experiments, compared with the calculated figures for the same
temperature, shows their general agreement.
Curves showing viscosity change with temperature for three typical gums. A--Arabic VII. B--Senegal VIII.
C--Ghatti 15.
As will be observed, the effect of heat appears to be the same upon the two typical gum arabics quoted above,
an increase of temperature from 18° C. to 50° C. decreasing the viscosity by nearly one half in both cases, and
the same seems to be true of most gum arabics. Roughly also the same holds good for Ghattis, as the
following numbers show:
Temperature. η Z.
°C.
50 0.0517 418
46 0.0581 468
42 0.0628 506
38 0.0726 585
After heating to
Gum Arabic Without heat. 60°C. 80°C. 100°C.
10 Per Cent.
Z at 18°C 570 468 470 517
Z at 30°C 485 400 422 439
Z at 50°C 347 287 258 301
Ghatti gum No. 15, 1,104 780 660 758
5 per cent.
Z at 18°C.
The variation of viscosity with strength of solution was also studied with one or two typical gums. A 10 per
cent. is invariably more than twice as viscous as a 5 per cent. solution. The following curve was obtained from
one of the Ghattis. Similar results were shown by other gums.
It would seem, therefore, that strong solutions, say of 50 per cent. strength, would be more alike in viscosity
than solutions of 5 per cent. strength of the same gums. In other words, the viscosity of a gum solution should
be taken as nearly as possible to the strength it is used at, to obtain an exact quantitative idea of its gumming
value.
The observation of this fact was one of the circumstances which decided us to use 5 per cent. solutions for the
determination of Ghatti gum viscosities, the ratio between the 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. solutions of gum
arabics being roughly the same as that between the respective weights required for gumming solutions of
equal value.
From observation of the general nature of the solutions of Ghatti gums, and from the fact that when allowed to
stand portions of the apparently insoluble matter passed into solution, the hypothesis suggested itself that
metarabin was soluble in arabin, although insoluble in cold water. If this hypothesis were correct, it would
explain the apparent anomaly of Ghattis giving solutions of higher viscosity than gum arabics, although they
leave insoluble matter behind. The increase in viscosity would be due to the thickening of the arabic acid by
the metarabin. Moreover, the solutions yielded by various Ghattis leaving insoluble matter behind would be
all of the same kind, viz., a saturated solution of metarabin in arabin more or less diluted by water. Still
further, if the insoluble residue of a Ghatti be the residual metarabin over and above that required to saturate
the arabin, then it will be possible to dissolve this by the addition of more arabin in the form of ordinary gum
arabic. In order to see if this were the case the following experiments were performed. Equal parts of a Ghatti
and of a gum arabic were ground up together and dissolved in water. The resulting solution was clear. It was
diluted until of 10 per cent. strength, and its viscosity then taken:
Contains 50
per Cent.
Ghatti.
A. Pressure 200 mm η Z
Next a solution was made from a mixture of 70 per cent. Ghatti and 30 per cent. gum arabic. This was also
clear and gave a considerably higher viscosity than the previous solution.
Contains 70
per Cent.
Ghatti.
B. Pressure 200 mm η Z.
Temperature 15° C 0.3177 2,562
It will be obvious that the increase of viscosity over the previous solution in this case must be due to the
smaller amount of the thin gum arabic which is present, i.e., in the first case there is more gum arabic than is
required to dissolve the whole of the insoluble metarabin. Further experiments showed that this is also true of
the second mixture, as the viscosities of the following mixtures illustrate:
This last solution E we called for convenience the "maximum viscosity" solution, as we believe it to be a 10
per cent. solution containing arabin very nearly saturated with metarabin. As will be observed, its viscosity
differs widely from those of solutions C and D, between which it lies in percentage of Ghatti. The first named
solution C contains too little of gum arabic to dissolve the whole of the metarabin. Consequently there is a
residue left undissolved, which of course diminishes its viscosity. The second solution D is too low in
viscosity, as it still contains too much of the weak gum arabic, and as will be seen further on, a very slight
change in the proportions increases or decreases the viscosity enormously.
We next tried a series of similar experiments with a Ghatti containing far less insoluble residue and which
consequently would require less gum arabic to produce a perfect solution. Mixtures were made in the
following proportions, viz.:
When these experiments were first commenced we were still under the impression, which several months'
experience of working with gums had produced, namely, that the Ghattis were quite distinct in their properties
to ordinary gum arabics. But the new hypothesis, and the experiments undertaken to confirm it, showed
clearly that if the viscosity of a gum solution depends on the ratio of metarabin to arabin, then there is no
From these observations it would follow, that by taking a gum of less viscosity than the gum arabic previously
used to dissolve the Ghatti, less of it would be required to do the same work. We confirmed this suggestion
experimentally by taking another gum arabic of viscosity 0.0557 at 15° C. A mixture containing 93.3 per cent.
of this Ghatti and 6.7 per cent. of our thinnest gum arabic gave a clear solution which had the highest
viscocity we have yet obtained for a 10 per cent. solution.
Besides obtaining this curve for change in viscosity from maximum amount of metarabin to no metarabin at
all, we also traced the decrease in viscosity of the "maximum" solution by dilution with water. The following
numbers were thus obtained, and plotted out into a curve.
Having obtained this curve, we are now in a position to follow up the hypothesis by calculating the surplus
amount of insoluble matter in a Ghatti. For, let it be conceded that the solution of any Ghatti leaving an
insoluble residue is a mixture of arabin and metarabin in the same ratio as our "maximum" solution, only
more diluted with water, then from the found viscosity we obtain a point on the curve for dilution, which
gives the percentage of dissolved matter.
Percentage. η Z.
10 0.55250 4,456
9 0.42850 3,456
8 0.35120 2,832
7 0.27660 2,230
6 0.22290 1,797
5 0.16810 1,355
4 0.11842 955
3 0.08020 647
2 0.06190 499
1 0.03610 291
We have already shown that a "maximum" viscosity solution of this gum is formed when 6.7 per cent, of thin
gum arabic is added to it, and therefore 6.7 parts of a thin gum arabic are required to bring 16 parts of
metarabin into solution. A convenient rule, therefore, in order to obtain complete solution of a Ghatti gum is
to add half the weight in thin gum of the insoluble metarabin found from the viscosity determination. But the
portion of the gum which dissolved is made up in a similar manner (being a diluted "maximum" solution).
By Dr. S. RIDEAL and W.E. YOULE. 60
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scientific American Supplement, 821
Therefore the 84 per cent. of soluble matter contains 58 parts of metarabin, and the total metarabin in this gum
is 58 + 16 = 74 per cent, on the dry gum.
With these solutions of high viscosity some other work was done which may be of interest. The temperature
curves of the mixtures marked E, G, and F were obtained between 60° C. and 15° C. The two former curves
showed a direction practically parallel to that at the 10 per cent. solutions, and as they were approaching to the
"maximum" solution, this is what one would expect. Mr. S. Skinner, of Cambridge, was also good enough to
determine the electrical resistances of these solutions and the Ghattis and gum arabics employed in their
preparation. The electrical resistance of these gum solutions steadily diminishes as the temperature increases,
and the curve is similar to those obtained for rate of change with temperature. Although the curves run in,
roughly, the same direction, there does not appear to be any exact ratio between the viscosities of two gums
say at 15° C. and their electrical resistances at the same temperature; hence it would not seem possible to
substitute a determination of the electrical resistance for the viscosity determination. The results appear to be
greatly influenced by the amount of mineral matter present, gums with the greatest ash giving lower
resistances.
Experiments were conducted with two Ghattis and two gum arabics, besides the mixtures marked E, F, and H.
Comparison of the electrical resistances with the viscosities at 15° C. shows the absence of any fixed ratio
between them.
-------- η Z
Natural gum 0.05570 449
"Ash-free" gum 0.05431 438
Thus showing that the viscosity of pure arabin is almost identical with that of its salts in gum.
The yield of furfuraldehyde by the breaking down of arabin and metarabin was thought possibly to be of some
value in differentiating the natural gums from one another, but we have not succeeded in obtaining results of
much value. 0.2 gramme of a gum were heated with 100 c.c. of 15 per cent. sulphuric acid for about 2½ hours
in an Erlenmeyer flask with a reflux condenser. After this period of time, further treating did not increase the
amount of furfuraldehyde produced. The acid liquid, which was generally yellow in color, was then cooled
and neutralized with strong caustic soda. The neutral or very faintly alkaline solution was then distilled almost
to dryness, when practically the whole of the furfuraldehyde comes over. The color produced by the gum
distillate with aniline acetate can now be compared with that obtained from some standard substance treated
similarly. The body we have taken as a standard is the distillate from the same weight of cane sugar. The tint
The action of gum solutions upon polarized light is interesting, especially in view of the fact that arabin is
itself strongly lævo-rotatory D
α = -99°, while certain gums are distinctly dextro-rotatory. Hence it is evident
that some other body besides arabin is present in the gum. We have determined the rotatory power of a
number of gum solutions, the results of which are subjoined. On first commencing the experiments we
experienced great difficulty from the nature of the solutions. Most of them are distinctly yellow in color and
almost opaque to light, even in dilute solutions such as 5 percent. We found it necessary first to bleach the
gums by a special process; 5 grammes of gum are dissolved in about 40 c.c. of lukewarm water, then a drop of
potassium permanganate is added, and the solution is heated on a water bath with constant stirring until the
permanganate is decomposed and the solution becomes brown. A drop of sodium hydrogen sulphate is now
added to destroy excess of permanganate. At the same time the solution becomes perfectly colorless.
It can now be cooled down and made up to 100 c.c., yielding a 5 per cent. solution of which the rotatory
power can be taken with ease. Using a 20 mm. tube and white light the above numbers were obtained.
When gum arabic solution is treated with alcohol the gum is precipitated entirely if a large excess of spirit be
used. With a view to seeing if the precipitate yielded by the partial precipitation of a gum solution was
identical in properties to the original gum, we examined several such precipitates from various gums to
ascertain their rotatory power. We found in each case that the specific rotatory power of the alcohol
precipitate redissolved in water was not the same as that of the original gum. In other words these gums
contained at least two bodies of different rotatory powers, of which one is more soluble in alcohol than the
other. O'Sullivan obtained similar results with pure arabin. The experiments were conducted in the following
manner:
(a.) Five grammes of a dextro-rotatory gum (No. 3 in table) were dissolved in 20 c.c. of water. To the solution
was added 90 c.c. of 95 per cent. alcohol. The white precipitate which formed was thrown on to a tared filter
and washed with 30 c.c. more alcohol. The total filtrate therefore was 140 c.c. The precipitate was dried and
weighed = 2.794 grammes or 55.88 per cent. of the total gum. The precipitate was then redissolved in water,
bleached as before and diluted to a 5 per cent. solution. This was then examined in the polarimeter. Readings
gave the value D α = +58.4°. The previous rotatory power of the gum was +66°. Now the alcohol was driven off
from the filtrate, which, allowing for the 11.95 per cent. of water in the gum, should contain 32.17 per cent. of
gum. The alcohol-free liquid was then diluted to a known volume (for 5 per cent, solution), and Jα found to be
+ 57.7°. This experiment was then repeated again, using 5 grammes of No. 3, when 3.5805 grammes of
precipitate were obtained, using the same volumes of alcohol and water. The precipitate gave Jα = +57.4°; the
filtrate treated as before, only the percentage of gum dissolved being directly determined instead of being
calculated by difference, gave Jα = + 52.5°.
(b.) Another gum (No. 9) with αJ = -38.2° and containing 13.86 per cent, of moisture, gave 2.3315 grms. of
precipitate when similarly treated. The precipitate gave when redissolved in water Jα = -20.8°. The filtrate
containing 39.5 per cent, real gum gave αJ = -67.5°, so that the least lævo-rotatory gum. was precipitated by the
alcohol.
The Ghattis apparently are all lævo-rotatory, and give much less alcoholic precipitates than the gum arabic.
The precipitation moreover was in the opposite direction, that is, the most lævo-rotatory gum was thrown
down by the alcohol. The appended table shows the nature of the precipitates and the respective amounts from
two Ghattis and two gum arabics. It will be observed that the angle of rotation in three of the cases is
decidedly less both for precipitate and filtrate than for the original solution:
Dextrins containing much starch are less hygroscopic than those which are nearly free from it, as the same
conditions which promote the complete conversion of the starch into dextrin also favor the production of
sugars, and it is to these sugars probably that commercial dextrin owes its hygroscopic nature. We have been
in part able to confirm these results by a series of tests of the same gums in India, but have not yet obtained
information as to their behavior in the early part of the year.
The fermentation of natural gum solutions is accompanied by a decrease in the viscosity of the liquid and the
separation of a portion of the gum in lumps. Apparently those gums which contain most sugar, as indicated by
their reduction of Fehling's solution, are the most susceptible to this change. Oxalic acid is formed by the
fermentation, which by combination with the lime present renders the fermenting liquid turbid, and also some
volatile acid, probably acetic.
We have made some experiments with a gum which readily fermented--in a week--as to the respective value
of various antiseptics in retarding the fermentation. Portions of the gum solutions were mixed with small
quantities of menthol, thymol, salol, and saccharin in alkaline solution, also with boric acid, sodium
phosphate, and potash alum in aqueous solution. Within a week a growth appeared in a portion to which no
antiseptic had been added; the others remained clear. After over five months the solutions were again
examined, when the following results were observed:
In the earlier part of this paper we have given a short account of the chief characteristics of the more important
gum substitutes. The following additional notes may be of interest.
The ashes of most gum substitutes, consisting chiefly of dextrin, are characterized by the high percentage of
chlorides they contain, due no doubt to the use of hydrochloric acid in their preparation. The soluble
constituents of the ash consist of neutral alkaline salts, but as a rule no alkaline carbonates, and it is thus
possible to demonstrate the absence of any natural gum in such a compound. We have seldom noticed the
presence of any sulphates in such ashes, but when sulphurous or sulphuric acids have been used in the starch
conversion it will be found in small quantities.
We have already pointed out that the potash absorption value of a gum is low and that dextrins give high
numbers, but the latter vary very considerably, and as the starch and sugar present also influence the potash
absorption value, it does not give information of much service. The following table shows the kind of results
obtained:
The hygroscopic nature of dextrins renders them unsuitable for foreign work, but when the quantity of starch
is appreciable, better results are obtainable. A large percentage of unaltered starch is usually accompanied
with a small percentage of sugar, and no doubt this is the explanation of this fact. An admixture containing
natural gum of course behaved better than when no such gum is present. Bodies like "arabol" made up with
water and containing gelatin are very hygroscopic when dry, although as sold they lose water on exposure to
the air. Gum substitutes consisting entirely of some form of gelatin with water, like fish glue, are also
somewhat hygroscopic when dried. The behavior of these artificial gums and dextrins on exposure to a warm
moist atmosphere can be determined in the same apparatus as described for gums.
The process we have adopted for estimating the glucose starch and dextrin in commercial gum substitutes is
based on C. Hanofsky's method for the assay of brewers' dextrins (this Journal, 8, 561). A weighed quantity of
the dextrin is dissolved in cold water, filtered from any insoluble starch, and then the glucose determined
directly in the clear filtrate by Fehling's solution. The real dextrin is determined by inverting a portion of the
filtered liquid with HCl, and then determining its reducing power. The starch is estimated by inverting a
portion of the solid dextrin, and determining the glucose formed by Fehling. After deducting the amounts due
to the original glucose and the inverted dextrin present, the residue is calculated as starch. A determination of
the acidity of the solution is also made with decinormal soda, and results returned in number of c. c. alkali
required to neutralize 100 grammes of the dextrin. Results we have obtained using this method are embodied
in the following table:
[1]
A paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry, London, 1891. From the Journal
The apparatus consists of two concentric vessels having an annular space between them of a few centimeters.
A worm, S, is placed in the internal vessel R. All this is of nickel plated copper. The worm, S carries, at Ro',
an expansion cock and ends, at O in the annular space, R'. A very strong tube is fixed to the cock, Ro', and to
the ajutage, A'. It receives the tube, Tu, which, at the time of an experiment, is coupled with the cylinder of
carbonic acid, CO². A tubulure, D, usually closed by a plug, Bo, communicates with the inner receptacle, R.
This is capable of serving in certain experiments in condensation. The table, Ta, of the tripod receives the
various vessels or bottles for the condensed products.
The entire apparatus is placed in a box, B, lined with silk waste and provided with a cover, C, of the same
structure. Apertures, Th, Ro, and T", allow of the passage of a key for acting upon the cock, Ro', as well as of
thermometers and stirrers if they are necessary.
When it is desired to operate, the internal vessel, R, is filled with alcohol (3 quarts for the ordinary model).
This serves as a refrigerant bath for the experiments to be made. The worm, S, having been put in
communication with the carbonic acid cylinder, CO², the cock, Ro, of the latter is turned full on. The cock of
the worm, which is closed, is opened slightly. The vaporization and expansion of the liquid carbonic acid
cause it to congeal in the form of snow, which distributes itself and circulates in the worm, S, and then in R.
The flakes thus coming in contact with the metallic sides of S rapidly return to the gaseous state and produce
an energetic refrigeration. At the lower part of the annular space, R', are placed fragments of sponge
impregnated with alcohol. The snow that has traversed the worm without vaporizing reaches R'. and dissolves
in this alcohol, and the refrigeration that results therefrom completes the lowering of the temperature. The gas
finally escapes at O, and then through the bent tube, T'.
CAILLETET'S CRYOGEN.
As a variant of the process I sometimes add to the usual amount of nitric acid an additional one one-hundredth
part of phosphoric acid on account of its beneficial nutritive powers--that is to say, to one hundred parts of
grain one part of nitric acid and one one-hundredth part of phosphoric acid.
While my improved process is based on the well-known converting power of acids on starch, I am not aware
that it has ever been applied in the manner and for the purposes I have described. For example, sulphuric and
hydrochloric, also sulphuric and nitric, acids have been employed in the manufacture of glucose; but in every
such case the resulting products were not capable of superseding those obtained by the existing methods of
saccharification used in distilleries. In my process, on the other hand, the product is so capable. Not only may
To take a photograph of the spectrum, put a quarter plate in the dark slide and place in camera; point the
camera toward a bright sky, or white cloud, near the sun--not at the sun, as there is considerable difficulty in
keeping the direct rays exactly in the axis of the spectroscope--draw the shutter, and give, say, sixty seconds.
On development, you will probably obtain a good spectrum at the first trial. The duration of exposure must, of
course, depend upon the brightness of the day; but if the experiments are to have relative values, the period of
exposure must be distinctly noted, and comparisons made for a normal exposure of sixty seconds, ninety
seconds, two minutes or more, just according to whatever object one has in view in making the experiments.
With a given exposure the results will vary with the light and the width of the slit, as well as being influenced
by the character of the instrument itself. Further, all such experiments should be made with a normal
developer, and development continued for a definite time. The only exception to this rule would be in the
event of wishing to ascertain the utmost that could be got out of a plate, but, under ordinary circumstances, the
On development, say for one, two, or three minutes, wash off and fix. You will recognize the H violet lines
and the others to the left, and this experiment shows what is the sensitiveness of this particular plate to the
various regions of the spectrum with this particular apparatus, and with a normal exposure and development.
So far, this teaches very little; it merely indicates that this particular plate is sensitive or insensitive to certain
rays of colored light. To make this teaching of any value, we must institute comparisons. Accordingly, instead
of simply exposing one plate, suppose we cut a strip from two, three, four, or even half a dozen different
plates, and arrange them side by side, horizontally, in the dark slide, so that the spectrum falls upon the whole
when they are placed in the camera and exposed. There is really no difficulty in cutting strips a quarter of an
inch wide, the lengthway of a quarter plate. Lay the gelatine plate film up, and hold a straight edge on it
firmly, so that when we use a suitable diamond we can plow through the film and cut a strip which will break
off easily between the thumb and finger. A quarter plate can thus be cut up into strips to yield about a dozen
comparative experiments. When cut and snapped off, mark each with pencil with such a distinguishing mark
as shall be clearly seen after fixing. The cut up strips can be kept in the maker's plate box.
The deep down underground electric railway in London has so far proved an unprofitable concern for its
stockholders. It is 3½ miles long, touches some of the greatest points of traffic, but somehow or other people
won't patronize it. The total receipts for the last six months were a little under $100,000, and they only carried
seventeen persons per train mile. On this road the passengers are carried on elevators up and down from the
street level to the cars. The poor results so far make the stockholders sick of the project of extending the road.
This is a Special Edition of the Scientific American, issued monthly--on the first day of the month. Each
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